A Glimpse of Darkness
by fallingwisteria
Summary: They met as children, but were separated. Ten years later, they meet again, but they are not the same people they once were. They each have their own wounds and secrets. But it is said that love can transcend even the greatest hardships. OkitaxOC
1. Chapter 1

**I know I said that it would probably be a while until I started a new story, but I came up with a great idea for this story yesterday. I was going to wait until after finals to publish it, but I think the more work I have, the more I want to procrastinate, so I ended up writing it. Plus I was kind of sad that I had finished my other story. I wanted to start a new one. I hope you guys like my new story, and please review!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Crash!_

Yukiko held her breath and slowly began counting to ten in her head. _"One...two..."_

_Thump!_ The sounds seemed to be nearing.

She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears with her small hands. _"Three...four...five..."_ She glanced at the closet door with fear and whimpered. _"Six...seven..."_ Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, causing her scraggly, black bangs to stick to her face. The little girl trembled when she heard heavy footsteps walking up to the closet where she was hiding. "_Eight...nine..."_ The closet door flew open and Yukiko let out a shrill scream of terror.

A large, meaty hand snaked in and grabbed her arm, dragging her roughly out of the her small hiding space. "There you are, you little bitch." The man growled, spit flying out of his mouth. His breath reeked of alcohol, and Yukiko cringed away. "Where's my dinner?!" He shouted.

Tears sprang to her eyes. "I'm sorry, papa. I didn't know you would be home tonight!"

He raised an arm and struck her face. "I never raised you to speak back to me like this! At this rate, you're going to grow up to be a good-for-nothing like your slut of a mother!"

The seven-year-old girl clutched her burning cheek, the tears escaping.

Her father slapped her again and his hand tightened around her slim wrist. "Don't cry! Your ugly face becomes even uglier!"

But his words only served to help the tears flow faster. He cursed under his breath, glaring at her, and pulled her to her room. He threw her in there and slammed the door shut.

"Stay in there until I say you can come out. If I find out that you've disobeyed me again, your punishment will be greater!" He threatened from the other side of the door. Then he stomped off.

Yukiko heard the clatter of sake jugs, and knew her father was back to drinking again. Nursing her bruised wrist, she crawled over to the small window and opened it halfway. She wiped the tears of her face with the sleeve of her dark-brown kimono and leaned against the wall, staring out at the burnt-orange sky. Yukiko pressed a hand against her stomach. The sharp pain reminded her that she had not eaten since the less-than-half-a-bowl of rice that she had that morning

She sighed and closed her dark-brown eyes. "_I promise I will get myself out of here." _She swore. When she reopened her eyes, a small boy with sandy hair and forest-green eyes was standing right outside her window, staring at her, holding an onigiri. Yukiko eyed it hungrily.

"You're hurt." The boy commented.

"Papa hit me because I was disobedient." Yukiko replied honestly.

"Do you want to come outside and play with me?"

"I can't. Papa will get mad at me." Her eyebrows furrowed.

The boy frowned and looked down at the onigiri in his hand. He held it in front of her. "Then here, take this. You're too skinny." He pouted.

Yukiko blinked in surprise, but she took the onigiri, smiling as she did so. "Thank you!"

The boy's pout turned into a scowl and his face reddened. He quickly turned away to hide his embarrassment. "It's only an onigiri..."

"Thank you!" She repeated.

His scowl deepened and his blush reddened. "Shut up, you're annoying." And he ran off

"Wait!" Yukiko called after him. "At least tell me your name..." She trailed off when he didn't turn back. She blinked down at the food. Smiling, she ate it as slowly as she could, savoring every morsel.

Everyday, the little boy would leave food for the girl by the window. Several days into the routine, Yukiko caught him in the act. "Hey," she called out to him. The boy started and tried to run away, but she caught his arm. "What's your name?"

He looked away, blushing. "Okita. Okita Souji." He muttered.

"Okita-san?" Yukiko smiled. "I like that name!"

Okita wrenched his arm away and ran off. Yukiko stared after him.

The next evening, Yukiko's father returned reeking more than usual. "Get out of my way!" He screamed at his daughter, kicking her out of the way. She fell backwards into a pile of sake jugs.

_Crash_. Several hit the floor and shattered upon impact. Yukiko stretched out an arm to brace herself, but landed in the shattered glass. Pain wracked her body and her vision blurred as she saw her crimson blood staining the tatami. The red seemed to blot everything else out, and for the first time, Yukiko felt an emotion she had never experienced before. Her fingers twitched, itching to kill.

As she bent down, the blood flowed even faster down her arm. It felt uncomfortable. She pick up a particularly large, sharp shard of porcelain and straightened. Turning, she dove at her father and embedded the shard into his chest.

* * *

Okita stood next to the window, holding a steaming meat bun. He recalled the girl's smiling face and blushed. He was waiting to see her so he could ask her name, but she was tardy. He glanced at the screen with worry. He remembered what it was like to be bullied, and how it felt when Kondou had extended his kind, helping hand. The girl reminded him of his past, when he was weak.

A cry from inside the house made Okita jump. Worry crossed his face and he ran around the side of the house to the front entrance. Without announcing himself, he threw the door open.

His eyes widened at the scene in front of him. A small, thin girl with long, black hair stood, covered in blood, clutching a shard of red porcelain. Beside her laid what looked like a large man, but he was so cut up he was almost unrecognizable. The walls, the floor, the furniture, and the child were dripping in crimson blood. She turned and stared at Okita with hard, obsidian eyes, devoid of any emotions. Okita felt bile rising in his throat. He dropped the meat bun he was holding and fled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter!**

gozita444,** Thank you for being the first reviewer! I hope I meet your expectations!**

StarTime101,** I'm really happy that you like my other story! I hope you enjoy this one as well!**

The Queen of Water,** Thank you for your review!**

AmazeBallsWomp,** I'm glad you liked the first chapter, and I hope you do too!**

**Please review!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Ten years later:**

Yukiko leaned against the side of a shop, hiding in the darkness of an alley. She crossed her arms over her chest and peeked out at the main street from around the corner of the store. Sighing, she dragged her head back.

"Expecting something?"

She jumped at the sound. "Shit!" She cursed. "You're going to give me a heart attack! Jeez, can't you show up like a normal person for once?" Yukiko glared angrily at the man lounging against the side of the shop in front of her.

He smirked. "Have you been waiting long, honey?" He asked, ignoring her question. Shrugging off the wall, he closed the small distance between them. The tall man placed his left hand against the wall next to her head and leaned down until their faces were inches apart. The ends of his shoulder-length, curly black hair caressed her face.

"I'm not waiting for you, Takumi." She responded sourly, trying to push him away.

"Is that so?" Takumi reached into his kimono and pulled out a small drawstring purse. "I got you a little present. You'll like it." He dropped the purse into the sleeve of her dark-blue kimono.

"Who did you steal it from?"

"Some rich, old lady." He snickered. "I wonder if she's noticed that it's gone by now." Accidentally - or maybe it was purposefully - his fingers brushed against the skin of her forearm as he pulled his hand out of her sleeve.

Yukiko yanked her arm away. "Don't touch my arm." She hissed, her gaze turning steely.

Takumi chuckled. "Paranoid as ever. You should loosen up a bit. What's with you and your arm?"

She glared at him.

Takumi arched a slender eyebrow. "I still don't get why you wear men's clothing. You'd look so much better dressed as a girl." He caught a lock of her long hair in his hand. It was so black there seemed to be a blue sheen to it.

Yukiko brushed his arm away. "It's my business what to do with myself."

Takumi scoffed and dropped the hair. "Well whatever." He straightened up. "I hear the others coming. We'll save this for later." His amber eyes sparkled as he gazed down at her. He ran a large hand through his unruly hair, messing it up even more.

Five panting men poured into the alley. Hearing several shouts of anger coming from nearby, they scooted deeper into the shadows. Two furious men ran by. "Where are they? One of them stole my fabric!" One of them ejaculated furiously.

"I lost them!" The other one spat out. "Let's check this way!"

The group hiding in the alley held their breaths until the sound of footsteps had faded. Then they released it with a relieved sigh.

"That was _way_ too close!" One of the five men exclaimed.

"Hey boss," the large, bald one smiled.

"What is it, Kimura?" Yukiko asked.

He reached into his tan kimono and pulled out a long, folded length of bright red cloth. "Look, I nicked this from that fabric store down the street. Isn't it pretty!"

Yukiko stared at the brightly colored cloth, her stomach churning. Her mind felt unsettled, as if something was trying to rise to its surface. She scowled fiercely at the fabric. "Get that thing out of my sight!" She spat with as much venom as she could muster.

Kimura blinked and his mouth hung open stupidly. "But boss..."

"I said to get it out of my sight!"

"Alright..." He quickly stored it back in his kimono, looking crestfallen at her reaction.

Yukiko sighed and pressed her fingers against her temples. "You guys go on ahead first. Takumi and I are going to do some shopping."

"Yes boss." They muttered cautiously. With wary backward glances, they scurried off, clutching their riches close to their chests.

She groaned and exited the alley. "I didn't mean to be that harsh. My mouth just sort of slipped."

"Did you hate the fabric so much? It looked like pretty high quality material to me." Takumi raised his eyebrows at her as they walked down the street together.

"It's not the fabric. It's the _color_ of the fabric. I hate red. I can't stand it."

"Why? Red isn't a bad color or anything. I think it can look pretty sexy." He grinned and tossed his head, his long bangs flopping over his eyes.

Yukiko shot him a withering look. "Lecherous man." Her lips curled in disgust.

His hearty laugh received several curious glances from the bystanders. A few of the girls quickly looked away and whispered and giggled to each other behind the long sleeves of their elaborate kimonos. Yukiko peeked at the man from under her eyelashes. There was no doubt he was handsome. Even she herself found him to be attractive - not that she would ever say it to his face. His ego was large enough as it is.

"Why do you hate red so much?" She was forced back from her contemplation.

"What?"

"Is there any specific reason why you hate red so much?" He reiterated.

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders. "I've always hated it for as long as I can remember."

"And how long is that?" Takumi tried to suppress a smile.

"You know! You were the one who found me when I was seven years old. You've always known that I can't remember anything before that!"

"Yeah, you're right. I do." He held back a laugh.

"Then why did you ask me?"

"I just wanted to hear you say it."

Yukiko gaped. "Arrogant bastard! Don't talk anymore. I should just sew your mouth shut!"

"So what color _do_ you like?"

"I thought I told you not to talk!"

"If you don't like red, then what color do you like?"

Yukiko sighed and pondered the question for a moment. All of a sudden, a nostalgic feeling came over her. She smiled. "Green. I like green."

Their conversation was halted by muttering. The people around them stepped to the side to allow a group of men, cladded in blue, to pass. They citizens shot them hateful looks.

"So this is the infamous Shinsengumi, huh?" Yukiko observed them. "I've heard about them, but I've never really met them up close like this before."

"They're a shady, self-satisfying group." Takumi snorted with contempt.

"Sounds like someone I know."

He ignored the comment. "They say they're protecting the peace here in Kyoto, but they're just ass-kissing suck ups."

Yukiko's eyebrows shot up at the comment. Takumi was a pretty condescending person, but she had never heard him voice his opinions _this_ vehemently before. "Did you get in a bad scrape with them before or something? Is that why you hate them so much?" She snickered.

He glowered. "I don't want to talk about it. Come on, let's go finish up the shopping." He urged her forward.

Yukiko turned her gaze back to the Shinsengumi, and as she passed them, her eyes locked with the man standing at the head of the group. She took in his sandy hair and the pretentious way in which he carried himself. But these things did not attract her attention the most. What did, was the pair of bright, forest-green eyes that were riveted on her. He shot her a surreptitious smile and she blinked in surprise. Yukiko quickly turned her head away, only to crash into a hard body.

"Ow!" She cried.

"Hey, you okay?" Takumi grabbed her waist to prevent her from falling.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry." She muttered to the man she had run into.

"Little kid." He growled, "I don't think an 'I'm sorry' can make things better here." He rubbed the place Yukiko had smacked. "It hurts!"

"Look," Takumi stepped forward. "We already apologized okay? Just accept it like a man!"

"I don't think so!" He hissed back. Reaching out a calloused hand, he grabbed Yukiko's arm.

She let out a cry, and her body began to tremble. Something about the situation felt familiar. With a shout, she kicked at the man and wrenched her arm away. She pressed her arms close to her body, fear controlling her mind.

"Little brat!" The man rushed forward and Takumi pushed Yukiko out of the way.

But before any of them could do anything, another man with light-brown hair, the one leading the Shinsengumi, stepped between them. The ends of his light-blue haori flapped with the movement. "That's enough." He drawled. "Keep this up and we'll have to drag all three of you back to headquarters and cite you for disturbing the public peace. And I _really_ don't want to do all that work."

"You Shinsengumi bastard! Mind your own business!" Takumi seethed with rage.

The sandy-haired man drew his katana in one swift motion and pointed the tip at Takumi. He smirked. "You want a go with me? I thought you looked stupid. I guess I wasn't mistaken."

Takumi glanced down at the sword, and then back up at the green-eyes monster. His auburn eyes were burning with fury and he whirled around. "Let's go, Yukiko."

She took a step forward, then hesitated. "Wait." She glanced back over her shoulder at the man whose sword was resting in its sheath once again. "What's your name?"

The man looked at her, amusement coloring his face. His lips curved up in a smirk. "The Shinsengumi's first division captain, Okita. Okita Souji."


	3. Chapter 3

**I've neglected studying for my biology final. -_- Ah well. Sorry the chapters have been pretty short. I like to start out with short chapters. It's easier on me.**

Guest/ gozita444,** I do like Takumi as a character. That being said, I kind of wanted him to end up with Yukiko, but if that happened, it wouldn't be a OkitaxOC pairing anymore ^^. And all things will be explained in due time!**

AmazeBallsWomp, **Thank you for the review! I have been updating pretty fast, but it will probably slow down.**

StarTime101,** Thank you for leaving a review! I'm glad you like it!**

The Queen of Water,** here's chapter 3!**

Ainhoa11,** Thanks for reviewing!**

luvJesusInHeavn,** Thank you so much for the compliments on my first story, and thank you for favoriting it! I hope you enjoy this one as much as you did the previous story!**

lunar9ueen, **I've replied to you through PM, but thank you again for reading Blue Moon, even though you prefer SaitoxChizuru pairing! Thank you for also reviewing chapter 2, and I'm happy you want to read more of my story. Thank you for the compliments!**

**As always, please review!**

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**Chapter 3**

_"Okita Souji."_

The name resonated within her mind as Yukiko leaned back against the doorframe of the living room in their little, rundown shack, and picked at the peeling tatami. Dawn was approaching, and the sky was already a dusty grey. She withdrew the small drawstring pouch resting in the long sleeve of her kimono and ran her fingers across the smooth silk. She gazed, mesmerized, at the small, intricate, baby-pink cherry blossoms embroidered against the royal-blue background. The pouch alone must have been worth a fortune. If she sold it, it would be enough to feed her and the boys for a good, solid month.

Yukiko pulled the bag open, and nestled between the coins was a silver-banded ring set with an emerald stone. She snorted. Was it coincidence, or had Takumi known all along that she had liked that color all along? Yukiko twirled the band around her index finger. His eyes were the same color.

_"Okita Souji."_

A door slid open, and Yukiko dropped the ring back into the pouch and stowed it away. She stood up and Takumi tumbled into the room, reeking of sweat and sake.

"Hey there baby." He slurred, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. He tried to plant a kiss on her lips, but she pushed him away.

"Were you at Shimabara all night?"

"Yeah." He leered. "The girls there are pretty hot."

Yukiko stared at him in disgust. "Maybe I should sew your eyes shut as well."

"Come on baby, lighten up a bit." Takumi reached out and grabbed her arm.

Her dark-brown eyes widened, and she instinctively cocked her other arm back and punched him, hard, in the stomach. He doubled over, releasing her arm.

"Go make yourself presentable." She hissed.

Takumi smirked. "Anything for you, love." He slouched out of the room.

Minutes later, Takumi was back in fresh clothes and carrying a long bundle. Grunting, he sat down next to her and placed the bundle beside him. "Have you been out here waiting the entire night?"

"Yeah."

"Did you sleep?"

"No." She shook her head.

He sighed. "Sorry about my behavior." He apologized, after a long pause.

"Don't worry about it." Yukiko sighed. "I'm sorry for punching you."

"Hey, so, I've never figured it out, but why are you so sensitive about your arms?" Takumi asked.

Her face darkened and she bit her lower lip. Reluctantly, she slid the long sleeve of her kimono up, revealing several scars decorating the skin. Takumi's eyes narrowed as he leaned in to get a closer look. With gentle fingers, he traced the puckered skin.

"What happened? How did you get these?" He sounded outraged.

"I don't know. I don't remember. I've had them since I could remember." She pulled the sleeve down again, covering the wounds. Turning away, she blushed. "I don't want people to see them. They're ugly."

Takumi blinked in surprise, then he burst out laughing. "Is that why your so paranoid about them?"

"Shut up, or I'll make good on my promise of sewing your lips shut." She threatened.

"I don't think they're anything to be ashamed of."

"Well then, you and I think differently."

"Oh yeah." Takumi changed the subject, reaching over to grab the bundle he had brought with him. He handed it to her. "I bought this for you."

Yukiko arched an eyebrow and accepted the gift. "_Bought_ it, or _stole_ it?"

"Bought." He chuckled. "With stolen money."

The two of them shared a laugh and Yukiko unwrapped the present. The cloth smoothly fell away to reveal a katana. She shot Takumi an inquisitive look. "Why a katana?"

"You need to be able to protect yourself. Can you use it?"

"Yeah, I've got the basics down."

"That's good. I'd feel more at ease if you carry it around with you." He reached out and ruffled her long bangs.

She scowled and pushed them to the side. "You keep giving me things..."

Takumi smiled. "Like I said, anything for you, love." He leaned over and pressed his lips against her forehead.

_"Okita Souji."_

She blinked. _"Why did that guy's name pop into my head?"_ She wondered.

Pushing Takumi away, she stood up and clutched the sword close to her chest. "I'm going to see if I can't get a couple hours of sleep."

"Keep that katana close to you at all times." He cautioned.

Yukiko nodded and left the room.

Takumi groaned and rubbed the palm of his hands over his face. Once before, a long time ago, roughly ten years, he'd been asked if there was anyone important to him. At that time, he didn't have an answer, but now, there was someone he'd give anything for, even his own life. Takumi remembered when he first saw her - a little, emaciated girl who stared at him with black, desolate eyes. He smiled nostalgically. She had grown so much since then.

* * *

Several nights later, as Yukiko blew out the lights in her closet of a room, Takumi sidled in.

"What do you want?" She snapped, pulling the old covers over herself. "I want to go sleep."

"I want to ask you something." He laid down in front of her.

"What?"

"What would you say if I asked you to leave the life we're living right now? You know, start over, lead an honest life with me."

"Do you think people like us could really lead an honest life?"

"Sure, why not?"

"What about the others though?"

"They can fend for themselves."

Yukiko sighed and looked up at the celling. "You know, 'once a liar, always a liar.' We're thieves and liars, Takumi."

"We can change."

"But what if I said that I kind of like this life?"

"Do you really?" He raised his eyebrows.

Yukiko pouted. "It's not too bad. Far from the ideal life, but I'm content. I have a family, what more could I ask for?"

Takumi pushed himself up. "It was just an idea. If you like the way things are right now, then don't worry about it." He slid the door open. "Good night." He glanced back over his shoulder.

"Good night." Yukiko whispered.

The next morning, Yukiko awoke to sunlight streaming in from the small window in her room. She sat up and stretched, but as she did, she noticed a spot on the sleeve of her kimono, that was a darker shade than the rest. She brought it up to her nose and sniffed. _"Blood?"_ There was faint metallic smell, but it was impossible to be sure, and the dark color of her kimono didn't help her case. She decided to ignore it, and stood up to store her futon away. The door opened.

"Oh, Yukiko, you're up?" She turned to find Takumi yawning in the hallway outside her room.

"Yeah. I just woke up."

"I was wondering if you wanted to come with me into town. I have to buy some things."

Yukiko frowned. "Sure I guess."

"Okay then, come on. I want to go while it's still nice and early. Don't forget your katana."

She nodded and grabbed it from its position by the door. "Oh wait." She held out her sleeve for him to see. "This stain wasn't on my kimono last night. What is it?"

Takumi's amber eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and his face became troubled. "Are you sure it wasn't there last night?"

"Positive. I would have noticed."

His face smoothed and he grinned wickedly. "Do you drool when you sleep? Maybe you slobbered all over it."

Yukiko's face burned and she smacked him as hard as she could. "You know what? Maybe I won't go out with you after all!" She fumed. She turned to stalk away, but Takumi's arm encircled her waist, pinning her to his side.

He laughed triumphantly. "You're not running away from me!"

"Hey!" She shouted, "let me go!" She blushed even harder and tried to push him away, but to no avail.

It wasn't until they were at the main street that Takumi finally released her. She scrambled away as quickly as she could, reminding herself that revenge would have to be exacted. Takumi chuckled at her reaction and she glared at him. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but a crowd of people nearby distracted them.

"I wonder what's going on..." Yukiko stared at the group.

"Probably nothing important."

"Let's go check it out!" She bounded towards the commotion.

"Wait!" Takumi reached out an arm to hold her back, but his fingers just barely missed her. He sighed and followed her.

At the very edge of the crowd, he caught up to her, standing on tiptoes and straining her eyes to see what the fuss was about. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's go shopping."

Yukiko scoffed. "No way, are you kidding me? This is much more exciting!" She grinned. "I'm going to get a closer look. I'll be back."

"Yukiko, don't get any closer!" Takumi called after her as she squeezed in between the people and squirmed her way to the front.

Yukiko grinned when she finally made it, but much to her chagrin, she was immediately pushed back by a man wearing a light-blue haori. "Stay back." He ordered. "The Shinsengumi is taking care of this."

"Shinsengumi my ass." She muttered under her breath, but she did not let the man's actions deter her from seeing.

Over his shoulder she could see two people, or rather, what looked like people. It was impossible to tell what gender they were. Their faces had been completely ripped out, and their bodies slashed to shreds. Beneath them, the sandy ground was stained crimson. Her eyes widening, Yukiko clasped a hand over her mouth and gagged at the sight. There was a throbbing in her head, as if a sealed memory was struggling to rise to the surface. She groaned an pushed her way through the crowd, back to Takumi.

Outside the throng of people, her knees gave out and she sank to the ground. Takumi's arms wound tightly round her and gave her support. "I told you not to go."

"Did you know?" She choked out.

"That it was a murder scene?"

She nodded.

"I had an idea. There had been a few of these cases around here recently."

Yukiko gulped. "Hey, Takumi? Was I sleeping the entire night last night?"

A shadow flickered across his face before disappearing. "Yes, why?"

She looked away. "No reason. Just wondering."

Takumi lead her away from the crowd. "Come on, let's go finish that shopping."

* * *

"Souji." Hijikata picked up his bowl of rice and stabbed at his fish with a pair of chopsticks. "Did you find out anything when you went to the crime scene this morning?"

"Nope. Nothing." He drawled lazily.

Saito glanced at the man sitting next to him. "A Rasetsu?"

"Could be." Okita replied noncommittally.

"Sannan-san, did any of the Rasetsus escape last night?" Hijikata turned his sharp gaze to the bespectacled man.

Sannan-san shook his head. "Not that I know of. But it's possible one might have. I haven't checked yet, but last night seemed to be peaceful."

Okita was picking lazily at his vegetables when an image from that morning came to mind. "Ah." He exclaimed as a green leaf slipped from his chopsticks.

"What is it Souji?" Kondou asked.

"No. It's nothing, Kondou-san." Okita resumed eating.

He grinned when he recalled the image of a girl retching. Or was it a boy? Okita shook his head. No, it was definitely a girl. His observant eyes were never mistaken. She looked familiar, and his brain worked as tried to remember where he had seen her. _"Oh, she was that girl I saved a few days ago. She was with that annoying bastard. I wish I had killed him. He really got on my nerves."_ Okita smiled with delight. _"But it looks like I've found something interesting to play with at last."_


	4. Chapter 4

**I was originally going to take a few days off to study for my biology final, but I ended up writing this chapter anyway -_-. I need to stop procrastinating.**

kisa-kara-chan:** thank you for wishing me luck! I hope it goes well too! Haha, I seem to be having that problem a lot. This story is set during Reimeiroku, around the middle/ end.**

lunar9ueen:** thank you for liking my story! Okita is my second favorite character, after Saito, and I'm glad I'm starting to change your opinion of him and OC's! I gladly accept the present!**

Hikiri:** Yay! You're back as well! I'm so glad to have an old reviewer back! It made me so happy to see when you reviewed! XD**

gozita444:** thank you! I'm glad you like Takumi's character!**

Ainhoa11:** haha, unfortunately, you might have to wait just a bit longer. Please be patient with me! I'm sorry!**

luvJesusInHeavn: **I hope you are satisfied with this chapter!**

StarTime101: **Hehe, you'll just have to wait for the story to unfold!**

AmazeBallsWomp:** ^^ we'll see what happens to Takumi.**

MangetusProdigyPheonix101:** thank you for your review!**

Akiko88:** Another old reviewer! Thank you! I hope you like this one just as much as my other one!**

***I know there are some facts that are wrong (at the end of the chapter), but please bear with me! I did it to make this story work. Anyway, please review! I love to see what you guys think of this story!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Takumi's eyes flew open as he heard a noise outside the living room where he was sleeping. Sitting up, he heard it again.

_Creak._

He threw the covers aside and pressed himself flat against the wall next to the door. Yukiko walked past, carrying her katana. Her black eyes were strangely alert and calm. She slipped out the door, and Takumi followed her as quietly as he could.

She traveled down the dark road, finding her way only with help of the bright moonlight. Takumi slipped into the shadows of the buildings, keeping her in sight. All of a sudden, Yukiko stopped and looked back. Pressing himself against the side of a building, he held his breath. After counting slowly to ten, he poked his head around the corner, but she was gone. He ran out onto the street and turned several times, searching for her, but she was no where to be seen.

_"Shit, I've lost her!"_ He cursed at himself. He stared in the direction Yukiko had been heading in before. Making up his mind, he ran down the street in that direction.

When the darkness had swallowed him up, Yukiko stepped out from behind a house. She glanced down the road in the direction Takumi had run off in, and turned and headed the opposite way.

* * *

Okita leaned against a wide tree, yawning. He snapped alert when a man walked drunkenly past him, most likely returning from a long night at Shimabara. His green eyes narrowed and he scanned the vicinity. All of a sudden, a figure appeared before the drunk man. He yelped and scampered back a few steps. Walking towards him, the monster drew its sword. The man tried to turn, but his legs tangled and he tripped. "H-help me!" He cried out, scooting backwards. But before the man could move another inch, a silver blade had swung in a wide arc and his arm flew off. He clutched the stump and tried to escape, but the monster slashed at his legs.

Cackling in delight, it slowly drew its sword up the man's torso until it split cleanly in half. Then the monster reached down, and with its claws, it ripped out the man's face.

Okita stared, transfixed, at the scene that had just unfolded in front of him. _"That thing didn't even get a drop of blood on its clothes!"_ He stepped forward and the monster whirled around at the noise. "That was a pretty impressive show you put on there, but it will be your last!" His green eyes widened with anticipation, and he drew his katana. "I'll show you what happens when you cross the Shinsengumi's first division captain!" He smirked. "Don't worry. It'll be an even better performance than the one you just showed me."

He swiftly brought his sword up to block the attack that had been aimed at him. Okita stared into its eyes. He had never seen such a degree of bloodlust before. With a growl, the monster jumped back and bolted at Okita a second time. With a grunt, he pushed its sword to the side and lunged at the creature. It nimbly dodged under the blade and raised its right foot. With a powerful kick to Okita's stomach, it sent the sandy-haired man flying back. Okita hit the trunk of the tree with a gasp, his eyes watering. The monster stared at Okita with a hungry eye, and slowly began to approach him, but then it stopped. It raised its head to look up at the sky, and with one last glance at Okita, it disappeared.

When it was gone, Okita sank to his knees and looked down at his hands, which were still shaking from his impact with the tree. _"What the hell was that? That definitely was not an amateur fighting. Was it even human? Shit!"_ He ground his teeth together and glared at the space in front of him with narrowed eyes. Angrily, he slammed his fist into the trunk of the tree behind him.

Picking up his fallen sword, Okita sheathed it and stalked back to the headquarters. He was greeted by Sannan-san at the main entrance. "Okita-kun."

"What do you want, Sannan-san?" Okita sniffed.

"A Rasetsu escaped. Did you see it when you were out patrolling?"

"What?" Okita frowned. "A Rasetsu?" He though back to the creature he had just battled. "Maybe."

"It needs to be found as soon as possible! We can't have other people seeing those monsters!"

Okita's green eyes narrowed. "What was Niimi-san doing? Wasn't he supposed to be keeping an eye on those things?"

"I don't know." Sannan-san shook his head. "I don't know where he is."

"That bastard Serizawa-san. I bet he's planning something." Okita's lips curled.

Sannan-san sighed. "Anyway, the others are already out looking for the Rasetsu. You should go too."

"Fine." He turned around. "Oh yeah," his green eyes darted back to Sannan-san's hazel eyes. "There's a body out by the bridge. It's been mutilated, so that needs to be taken care of."

"Again?" Sannan-san eyebrows shot up. "Was it the Rasetsu?"

Okita shrugged. "Who knows. Could be." He gave Sannan-san a quick wave before heading out again. But he stopped when he saw Saito and Sano walking towards him. There was a body slung over Sano's broad shoulder. "Hajime-kun?"

Saito glanced up. "Souji, did you just get back?"

"Yeah. What's that you guys got there?"

"It's the Rasetsu that escaped." Sano explained, shifting the weight of the body onto his other shoulder. "He's dead."

Sannan-san rushed out. "Oh, you got him? Good." He turned to Saito. "Saito-kun, can you inform the others?"

Saito gave him a curt nod and disappeared.

"So then you won't be needing me anymore?" Okita glanced at the bespectacled man.

Sannan-san shook his head. "Since we've already captured the escaped Rasetsu."

Okita yawned. "Then put someone else in charge of clean up of the corpse. I'm tired."

* * *

The next morning, Yukiko awoke unusually refreshed. Turning her head to the side, her eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets when she saw Takumi lying next to her. She tried to roll away, but the movement made him stir, and he threw an arm around her.

"Morning baby." He muttered thickly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing sleeping in my futon?!" Yukiko hissed angrily.

He groaned. "Quiet down a bit. It's too early in the morning for this."

"It is _not_ early in the morning! The sun is already pretty high up, and the other guys are already up!"

"I'm tired. Let me sleep some more." He whined.

"What were you doing last night?"

"Taking care of some business. Now be quiet so I can sleep."

"Go sleep in your own futon!" Yukiko pushed him away.

"Too lonely."

"Well don't sleep in mine!"

"Hey boss, you awake?" A voice called from outside her room.

Yukiko's eyes widened. "Y-yeah, don't come in though. What do you want Ando?"

"Um, I just wanted to tell you that we're out of vegetables."

"Alright, I'll go buy some more later. You can leave." She heard his shuffling feet disappear and flung Takumi's arm off of her. "Get out of here!"

"Fine, fine." He sat up. And scratched his tangled, black hair. "I'm leaving now." He stood up, yawning and stretching.

"Oh yeah, Takumi?"

"What is it?"

Yukiko pulled out a short dagger from inside her kimono. "Since you gave me that katana, should I sell my dagger?"

Takumi blinked down at the weapon. "Oh, I forgot you had that thing. No keep it, it might come in handy."

"Alright then." She slipped the dagger back into her kimono and proceeded to stow away her futon. "I'm going to run to the market and buy some vegetables."

"I'll go with you." Takumi offered.

"No." Yukiko held up her hands. "I can go by myself."

"Take the katana."

"Yeah, I will." She slipped the sword into her obi and started down the hall to the front entrance. "I'll be back soon."

Yukiko paused outside, just beyond the main door, and savored the feeling of the crisp autumn air on her skin. She smiled and continued down the road to the market. _"Today feels like a good day."_ She thought to herself.

As she was browsing through the vegetables at the stalls, a hushed silence fell over the people around her. Yukiko straightened and turned around to see the Shinsengumi walking down the road towards her. They were lead by a man with emerald-colored eyes and dusty-brown hair. _"Okita Souji."_

His eyes met hers and he smiled a cat-like smile. Suddenly, without warning, he was rushing towards her and drawing his sword. "I've got you!" He growled. Yukiko barely had time to unsheathe her katana and bring it up in front of her face before he was upon her.

"W-what the hell?!" She yelled.

"You're pretty quick." Okita commented. He jumped back and swiped his sword at her, knocking her blade out of her hands. The weapon spiraled in the air before landing tip-first in the gravel, and Yukiko stumble backwards, tripping and falling onto the ground. Before she could even blink, Okita's sharp blade was pressed against her neck, light enough that it didn't draw any blood. Around them, the bystanders gasped in a mixture of shock and horror.

"One false move and I'll kill you." He threatened her, looking slightly confused.

Yukiko stared up at him with wide-eyed terror, not even daring to swallow for fear that he would kill her. He adjusted his sword so that it left less than a centimeter gap between the cold steel and her warm skin.

"Nod if you understand me."

Gathering her courage, Yukiko bobbed her head up and down once.

"Now that we understand each other, you're going to answer some of my questions." His voice was cold and unsympathetic. "Nod if you understand."

She nodded again.

Satisfied, Okita began his interrogation. "Where were you last night?"

"S-sleeping?" She stuttered timidly.

"Where did you learn how to use a sword? From the looks of it, you're an amateur, or is that just a hoax?"

"I-I am an amateur. I taught myself all the basics of using a sword, but I never went to a dojo, or had a master."

Okita's green eyes narrowed in bewilderment. "Are you telling the truth?" His sword edged closer to her throat.

Yukiko squeezed her eyes shut and tried to cringe away. "I-it's the truth!" She cried.

He stared down a her for a moment longer, and then sheathed his katana. "Wrong person?" He muttered.

Yukiko's eyelids cracked open into tiny slits, and when she saw that his sword was back in its holder, she let out a long sigh of relief. "What did you mean by doing that?!" She shouted in indignation.

"I thought you were someone else." Okita turned his back on her.

"You...you bastard!"

He chuckled. "I wouldn't be wearing a katana, let alone waving it around like you just did, if I was only an amateur."

Yukiko's face turned bright red. "I wouldn't be waving it around if you hadn't tried to kill me all of a sudden."

"Have a good day." Okita shot over his shoulder.

"You bastard! Get back here! I want a proper apology!" She fumed.

Okita smirked, but it quickly morphed into a sneer. _"Was she just pretending? My eyes have never deceived me before. Was she just pretending not to know?"_ Frowning, he crossed out that conjecture. _"She would have cracked under that much pressure. Then, did I get the wrong person?"_

A kind lady helped Yukiko stand up, and the black-haired girl patted the seat of her black hakama to get the dust off.

"Are you sure you're alright?" The lady asked her.

"Yeah thanks, I'm fine."

"The Shinsengumi is really horrible, attacking an innocent person for no reason like that." The lady had a sour look on her face.

Yukiko scoffed. "They sure aren't getting any sympathy from me for anything that happens." She grabbed her sword and inspected it. There were more dent marks in the fragile steel than she had anticipated. _"That guy only struck it maybe twice. How did it get so chipped?"_ Unable to come up with an answer, she ignored the question and sheathed her sword.

She made up her mind not to tell Takumi what had just transpired in case he decided to take things into his own hands and killed Okita before she could have the chance to do it herself. No, she wanted to exact revenge by her own hand.

* * *

Laughter rang through the room as the men threw down drink after drink. "Come one boss! Just one drink!" They urged.

Yukiko stabbed angrily at her food. "No means no! I don't care how happy you guys are that you manages to steal someone's entire fortune, but I don't want to get mixed up in your silly games!"

"It wasn't an entire fortune! We just saved up enough!" Takumi countered.

"That's right! Please boss, just one sip for us?" Ando pleaded.

Yukiko glowered at all of them. "Fine. Only one sip."

Takumi scooted forward in delight. "I'll pour!" He grabbed the small sake jar on her tray and poured the liquid inside into the saucer.

Wrinkling her nose, Yukiko tilted her head back and let the clear, crisp liquid slide down her throat. As she swallowed, she felt a heat in her stomach, that gradually began to rise up her body, and soon her cheeks were flushed.

Takumi stared at her. "Your face is really red. Are you drunk?"

Yukiko glared at him. "No, I'm not." She stood up. "I'm going to get some fresh air." She stomped out of the room and around a corner where she almost bumped into Okita. Her eyes widened. "You!"

Okita's lips spit into a grin. "Ah, it's you." He glanced at a young boy with long, blue hair. "Ibuki-kun, tell Serizawa-san not to save a seat for me. I have some urgent business to take care of." The blue-haired boy nodded and Okita placed a hand on the small of Yukiko's back, guiding her to an empty room. "Bring us some sake." He waved down a geiko who happened to walk by. She bowed in consent, and Okita pushed Yukiko into the empty room.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Yukiko hissed. "Don't you have some 'urgent business' to take care of?"

"What?" Okita sat down and stared at her. "No. That was a lie."

"You!" She was about to call him the worst name she could think of, but was interrupted by the door opening. A geiko entered and placed two trays in front of them. She bowed and excused herself.

Okita picked up the small sake jug and poured himself a drink. "I'm what?" He smirked.

Yukiko flushed and looked away. "Never mind." Her lips curled. "Anyway, why aren't you drinking with your friends? Didn't you come with them?"

He appraised her over the lip of his saucer. "I don't enjoy drinking in bad company."

"What bad company? Aren't you guys all from the Shinsengumi?"

"Doesn't mean we like each other. I'd rather not drink with that bastard Serizawa-san if I can help it." He threw back his drink. "He pisses me off."

"Now you know how I feel." She muttered under her breath.

Okita snorted. "Aren't you going to drink your sake."

"No." She replied curtly.

Okita raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself."

"Hey, have your eyes always been that color?" She examined them the best she could from her position.

Both of his eyebrows raised. "Well, it's not like they change with the seasons." He grinned suddenly and put his sake saucer down. "Why? Interested?"

Yukiko blushed. "Not a chance."

Okita stood up and walked toward her. "What's your name?"

"Why does it matter to you?"

"It gets pretty tiring calling you 'you' all the time." He sank down onto the ground in front of her.

She tried to scoot away, but Okita caught her left hand. "Watanabe Yukiko." She replied, averting her eyes.

Okita's smile became a smirk. "Yuki-chan." He reached out a hand and pushed her chest. She toppled over with her back pressed against the ground, and he straddled her.

"What are you doing?" Yukiko tried to push him off, but he wouldn't budge. "My name isn't 'Yuki-chan!' It's 'Yukuko!'" She pushed harder. "And in any case, don't call me so informally! Call me Watanabe. Repeat after me: Wa-ta-na-be. Say it!"

Okita's smirked widened and he leaned down. "Yuki-chan!" His face was inches from hers, and she could feel his warm breath tickling her face. "Lighten up a bit Yuki-chan. Let's have some fun!"

Yukiko glared at him. "No, get off of me. There are plenty of geikos around for you to mess with!"

"But what if I want you?"

"Geez, you're persistent! I still haven't forgiven you for almost killing me!"

"I wasn't going to kill you."

"I don't care! Get off of me!" She shoved at his chest, and in that instant, the sliding door flew open.

Takumi stared at the scene in front of him, first with surprise, but that quickly changed into fury. He lunged at Okita and threw him back. "What the hell are you doing?!" He shouted, enraged.

"Takumi!" Yukiko tried to placate him, but he ignored her.

"Stay away from her, do you hear me?! In fact, all of you guys, stay away from us! All of you Shinsengumi bastards should just die!" He drew back a fist and punched Okita in the face.

Okita's head snapped to the side, and he brought a hand up to finger the wound. The smirk was still playing on his lips.

"Hey, Takumi!" Yukiko grabbed his arm. "You went too far! He never hurt me. He was just playing around!"

Takumi's angry glare turned on her. He grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room.

In the dark hallway, Yukiko wrenched her hand away. "Takumi! You owe me an explanation! Tell me why you hate the Shinsengumi so much!" She commanded.

He stared at her and slowly walked towards her, forcing her to back up until she hit a wall. He slammed both hands onto the wall beside her head and leaned down so that his amber eyes were boring directly into her obsidian ones.

"You want to know why I hate them so much?" He hissed. "I'll tell you why. It's because those bastards killed my family three years ago."


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay! Finished my biology final without an incident! I was so close to a perfect score! So close! Oh well, I'm satisfied with my grade, so now, let the holidays commence! Merry Christmas everyone!**

gozita444, **haha, I like Takumi too. Thanks!**

NerdyGirl97, **Thank you!**

Hikiri, **so true!**

The Queen of Water, **here's the chapter!**

AmazeBallsWomp, **yeah, I agree, but Takumi is part of the "common mass" who doesn't know the Shinsengumi as well as we do ;)**

luvJesusInHeavn, **I'm glad you like Yukiko! I feel like she's more like me than Aoi was. I like to model my OC's after myself. Aww, I'm sorry, I hope you don't live too far. I remember last year when I had to take the AP Spanish 4 final, and our teacher warned us not to take it if we could help it, but I had to, and I ended up doing really badly, but my grade was still better than a lot of people who took it. -_-**

Ainhoa11, **thank you For your compliment!**

Ogure Michiyo, **thanks!**

mariko85, **thank you! I'm glad you liked my other story as well! I love the sensation of accomplishment after finishing a story ^^**

**Again, please, please review!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_"You want to know why I hate them so much? I'll tell you why. It's because those bastards killed my family three years ago. I had to watch as my mother, my father, and my older sister were slaughtered right before my eyes. I wasn't even allowed to look away!" He hissed in fury. "You know what they said to me as they were slowly killing off the members of my family?"_

_Yukiko shook her head, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear, shock, and horror._

_"They said to me:_ 'Your family is paying for the sin they have committed. You alone will be spared to carry the weight of their redemption. Take your life and learn never to cross the Shinsengumi ever again!'_" He spat. "What sin? My family never did anything wrong! Those bastards killed innocent people! Those bastards deserve to die!"_

Yukiko rolled over in her futon and opened her eyes, thinking about what Takumi had said to her the other night. Since then, things had been awkward between them, and whenever Yukiko saw him, she unintentionally averted her eyes. It was painfully obvious that she was avoiding him.

"Boss!" Kimura's voice snapped Yukiko from her silent self-reflection.

She jumped out of her futon and slid the door open. "What is it?" But her question was answered immediately. Behind Kimura stood several men dressed in light-blue haoris - the Shinsengumi.

"B-boss," Kimura stuttered, "they said that they wanted to talk to you."

Yukiko's eyes narrowed at the men. "Where's Takumi?" She asked Kimura.

"Not here." He replied, his face fearful.

"Fine." She snapped. "Leave us alone." She nodded at Kimura, and he timidly retreated. Yukiko stepped into the hallway and closed the door to her room behind her. "So? What business does the Shinsengumi have with us?"

"I believe you understand that it is a crime to steal?" The man nearest her spoke up.

Her left eye twitched. "Yes, I do. What about it? Get to the point."

He frowned at her audacity, but kept his temper. "You're under arrest for suspicion of running a band of thieves." His lips curled in disgust at the last word.

"You can't arrest me if it's only a suspicion!" Yukiko shouted.

"We can. It's within our powers, and besides, every suspicion must be confirmed." The man turned to his comrades. "Go get the others."

She kneaded her lower lip between her teeth. "If you leave them alone, I'll go with you willingly. I won't put up a fight." She proposed.

The leader of the group stared at her. Then he smiled slightly. "Fine. But if you resist in any way, at any time along the way, we won't hesitate to kill you on the spot."

"Fine." Yukiko agreed. She held out her hands in front of her and squeezed her eyes shut as the leader produced a coil of rope. She sucked in a breath and didn't let it out until after her wrists were bound together.

"Come on." The man who had bound her wrists tugged on the end of the rope and lead her down the hall to the front entrance.

"B-boss!" Kimura appeared.

"Don't worry Kimura, I'll be fine. Tell the others not to worry, and I'll be home soon." She gave him a reassuring smile.

Kimura nodded, and the man holding the rope binding Yukiko tugged her out the door. On the street, the Shinsengumi situated themselves around her, like guards escorting her to her beheading.

They reached the headquarters of the Shinsengumi, which was a large and respectable manor, and they stopped outside a room. "Serizawa-san, we've brought the thief." The leader said, tugging on the rope so that Yukiko stumbled forward.

"Aoyama? Good, bring him in." A deep voice resonated from the other side of the closed door.

Aoyama slid the door open and pushed the girl in. Yukiko tripped over her feet and fell flat on her face. Blushing, she tried to push herself up into a respectable position with her bound hands. "Stay outside." Serizawa ordered Aoyama. The lackey bowed and closed the door, giving them privacy.

Serizawa stared at Yukiko, and she did the same with him. He was a large man with grey hair. His face was weathered and wrinkled and bespoke hardship, but there was a dominating and rather frightening aura around him; and Yukiko was the first to break eye contact.

"Come closer." Serizawa commanded. He waited for her to move, but Yukiko held her ground, not allowing herself to be intimidated by the man. "Now." He raised his voice slightly, and his eyes flashed dangerously.

Obediently, Yukiko shuffled forward on her knees until she was an arms length away from the man. He placed the tip of his fan under her chin and forcefully raised her head. Yukiko glared at him.

"You. You're a girl, aren't you?" Serizawa eyed her, dropping the fan.

"So what if I am?" She spat venomously.

"But you're not the one who stole for me. Where's the bald one?"

"I'm here in his place. What did he do?"

Serizawa smirked. "Oh? He attempted to steal from me. He managed to slither away from me that time, but my men eventually caught him, and instead of bringing him back to me, this is who comes instead?"

Yukiko stared at him with indignation. "If you had intended to punish him for stealing from you, then punish me instead. I'm here in his stead."

His ugly smirk widened. "You'll take any punishment?"

She nodded, blinking uneasily.

Serizawa smirked and snapped his fan open with a flick of his thick wrist. "Aoyama, come in." He called.

The man immediately opened the door and entered the room. He slid the door close and knelt next to Serizawa. "Yes sir." He bowed.

Serizawa pointed at Yukiko with his fan. "Break the fingers on her right hand, one-by-one, until I tell you to stop." He sneered at the girl. "Maybe this will teach you to stop stealing."

Yukiko's eyes widened in terror.

Aoyama scooted forward and, with his short sword, severed the rope tying her wrists together. Then he grabbed her wrist in one hand and her index finger in another. Slowly, he bent the finger back, and Yukiko's eyes began to water when it reached its limit. But the man didn't stop. He kept bending the finger back, until with a _snap_, the bone broke, and pain shot like fire up her arm. Yukiko screamed, tears falling from her eyes. Her index finger was already beginning to swell, and the pain was almost unbearable.

"Next." Serizawa ordered.

Aoyama took her middle finger between his own and repeated the same process. He did the same with her ring finger. Every time there was a _snap_, Yukiko felt like she was going to die. In fact, she'd much rather prefer death over this agonizing pain. She screamed until her throat felt raw. She glared with as much hatred as she could muster at Serizawa. Sweat and tears streaked down her face, dripping onto the tatami. Her fingers felt heavy, and any movement, no matter how small, left them throbbing in the most unbearable pain she had yet to experience. Aoyama was moving on to her pinky when the door flew open.

There was a sharp intake of breath. "What the hell are you doing, Serizawa-san?!" Okita's infuriated voice lashed out like a whip.

There was a bark of laughter. "I'm teaching her a lesson." He replied.

Yukiko's left hand curled into a fist on the ground. She could barely hear their voices over the pounding of blood in her ears. Turning her head, she pleaded to Okita with her eyes.

He stared at her battered face for a moment, then smirked. "You're teaching her a lesson?" He stepped towards her. "I'll take over for you. We have some business left to settle anyway." He pushed Aoyama to the side and grabbed Yukiko's left arm. She winced and tried to push him away, feeling betrayed, but the movement only served to intensify the pain in her right hand. "Do you mind, Serizawa-san?" He glanced challengingly over at the man.

"Do what you want." He scoffed, fanning himself.

"Thanks." Okita smiled and dragged her out the door.

"What do you want? Let me go!" Yukiko screamed, trying to break free from Okita's grasp.

Okita stopped and flung her around to face him. "Stop struggling, or it'll hurt even more!" He snarled. Glaring at her, he continued down the hall. They stopped in front of a room and Okita called out, "Yamazaki-san, open up. I need to ask you a favor."

The door opened, and a young man with long brown hair, tied back in a ponytail, and intelligent, purple eyes stepped out. "What do you want, Okita-san?" He asked rather inhospitably.

"Can we put aside our differences for now? I need you to treat her." He glared at the medic. Pushing Yukiko forward, Okita grabbed her right hand and displayed her swollen, deformed fingers. "They're broken. Fix them."

Yamazaki glowered at Okita disapprovingly, but invited them into his room regardless. He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a roll of gauze. Then he turned his attention to Yukiko. "I'm going to set your bones first. This will hurt, but try to bear with it." He explained.

Yukiko nodded, and he took her index finger between his hands. With his thumb, he felt for the fracture, and when he located it, he pushed the bone back into place. Yukiko cried out in pain, and Okita jolted forward. "Yamazaki-san!" He shouted.

Yukiko shook her head at him. "It's fine." She gave Yamazaki a small, quavering smile. "Continue."

Yamazaki nodded, and proceeded with her middle finger. When he had finished setting all three, he wrapped the gauze tightly around the fingers. "Don't move them too much. The gauze is to help the bones regrow properly. If they become offset again and heal like that, I'll have to re-break them, and that will be even more painful. Don't remove the gauze for a couple months, and try not to get it wet." He glanced at her.

Yukiko nodded to show that she understood. Yamazaki turned to Okita. "You should take her home now, before Serizawa-san does anything weird to her again."

Okita scoffed. "I plan to do that." He pushed himself up to his feet, and motioned with his head that she should follow him. "Come on."

Yukiko stood up and followed him, examining her newly bandaged fingers. When they stepped out of the compound, she was surprised to see the sun already setting. _"Wow, that turned out to be longer than I had anticipated. I hope the guys aren't too worried about me..."_

On the way home, she glanced up at the man walking beside. "Um, thanks for saving me. You know, I was scared there, for a second, when you said you had some unfinished business to settle with me."

Okita chuckled. "Well, I have other plans for you, and I couldn't let Serizawa-san spoil them for me."

Yukiko's mouth dropped open, and she frowned. "Y-you! You know, I still haven't forgiven you for almost killing me that one time!"

His green eyes sparkled. "Like I said, I wasn't going to kill you."

She snorted. "I saw my life flash before my eyes in those few minutes. So why did you try to kill me?"

Okita blinked. "You know, Yuki-chan, my eyes are never wrong."

Yukiko stared at him in confusion. "I have no idea what you're talking about. And my name isn't 'Yuki-chan!' Call me 'Watanabe!' Got it!"

He smirked. "Is that anyway to treat someone who just saved your life?"

"You're just using that fact to your advantage now! I thought that was your payment for almost killing me!"

"You're the only one who thought that."

Their bickering was brought to a halt when they reached Yukiko's rundown shack. Okita stared at it and whistled.

"Stop judging." She scowled.

Okita smiled in amusement. "I didn't say anything."

"I could see it in your face."

The entrance flew open and Kimura rushed out. "B-boss!" He cried in joy. "You're back!"

Takumi stepped out as well, and when he saw her bandaged fingers and Okita standing beside her, he flew into a rage. "What did you do to her?! Why is she hurt?" He rushed at the sandy-haired man.

Yukiko quickly stepped between them. "It wasn't him. He helped me. That guy you stole from," she looked pointedly at Kimura, "broke my fingers as a lesson, and Okita-san helped me set them. Then he escorted me home."

Takumi stared at the two of them, his face a mixture of confusion and anger.

"Well, it looks like I should get going now." Okita smirked. He looked down at Yukiko. "Make sure you do what Yamazaki-san said."

Yukiko nodded. "I will." She watched as he retreated into the sunset and when he was gone, she turned around.

"Boss, I'm so sorry!" Kimura cried. "I was stupid to steal from that man!"

Yukiko sighed. "Don't worry about it, Kimura, we all make mistakes, but just to be safe, I want you to lay low for a couple weeks. You're not allowed to steal anything during that time."

Kimura nodded in relief.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Takumi's brows furrowed.

She gave him a smile. "It's just a couple of bones.

Takumi shook his head, and his hands clenched into fists by his side. "I'm a poor excuse for a man, I should have been there to make sure they didn't take you away. Why wasn't I home?"

Yukiko walked towards the house. "It's not your fault. I gave myself up willingly. It was my choice."

"Still!"

She slid the entrance door closed, and the last image she saw was of Takumi swinging his fists at a dead tree nearby.

* * *

Okita sighed as he pressed himself against the side of a shop, looking up at the undeniably full moon. It had been more than a week since the last incident, and he was getting tired of standing out here every night waiting for something to happen. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a flash, and he grinned. _"Finally."_ He jumped out from his hiding place and followed the figure streaking down the street. Damn, it was fast, he had to give it that much. Several times, he almost lost the monster.

It turned a corner, and upon seeing a poor man, it cackled and pounced, withdrawing a small dagger from inside its kimono with its left hand. The man screamed and tried to back away, but the monster was already on him before he knew it.

_"Left hand?"_ Okita stared in confusion. Last time he had specifically remembered it to be right handed. But when he looked closer, he noticed that three fingers on its right hand were wrapped in gauze. His suspicions confirmed, Okita stepped out just as the monster slashed at the man's throat, severing his vocal cords. The monster whirled around at the sound and growled, tensing its muscles to dash at Okita, but before it could, he opened his mouth and called out a name, "Yukiko! Stop!"

She stopped, and her black eyes widened at her name. She swayed unsteadily on her feet for a moment, before dropping like a rag doll. Okita rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground. He shook her roughly. "Hey, Yukiko! Yuki-chan!" But there was no response.

There was a scraping of footsteps, and Okita raised his head to see Takumi skidding to a stop in front of them. "What happened?" He glanced around wildly and sunk to the ground. He held out his hands and Okita reluctantly handed Yukiko over.

"I followed her here, and when I called out her name, she collapsed. What's going on?" His green eyes narrowed. "She doesn't remember anything when she wakes up."

Takumi stared at him with distrust, but relented. "She _doesn't_ remember anything. I-" but he was cut off by the sound of groaning. He glanced down in surprise to see Yukiko's eyes slowly fluttering open.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm really sorry for the late update guys. But I have a good reason for this. I was grounded from my computer, and my mom confiscated my iPad, so I had no method of typing. But luckily, much to my mom's chagrin, she had to return my iPad once school started because it's school-issued, and I need it for school, so now I can type, and I'll make it up to you guys by (trying) to get the next chapter up within a few days.**

Ogure Michiyo:** Don't worry, all of those questions will be answered with time!**

Ainhoa11:** Thank you! I will get to Takumi's past, sooner or later.**

gozita444:** Oh, they will get a fight scene. I can't pass _that_ up! I'm glad I got Serizawa's personality correct! It's been a while since I've seen the anime, but he was pretty fun to write!**

luvJesusInHeavn: **Hmmm, I guess you'll just have to wait and see if your conjecture was right, don't you ;D**

Hikiri:** Haha, I think Yamazaki will actually show up more later.**

AmazeBallsWomp: **Haha, lolz**

lunar9ueen: **Kazama's pretty high on the list for me. I must admit, he is one sexy beast! And don't worry, I will put Saito in here as much as I can. Actually, there is a scene with him in the next chapter.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and remember to review!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Yukiko's eyes fluttered open, and the first thing she saw was the two men kneeling over her. "Takumi? Okita-san? Why are you two...?" She groaned and raised her hands to rub her eyes, but froze when she saw the crimson blood coating them. She turned her hand around, examining them, and frowned. Slowly, she sat up and surveyed the area. "Where are we?" She looked at Okita and Takumi for an answer, but they were silent. Then, her eyes landed on the corpse behind them, and she turned as pale as a sheet.

She shot to her feet and scrambled back, her eyes wide. "W-what?" She gasped, her entire body trembling.

Takumi tentatively reached out a hand towards her. "Yukiko..."

She glanced around wildly. "D-did I kill him? What's going on? I don't understand!" She glanced back down at her bloody hands. "Why is there blood on my hands?"

"Yukiko..." Takumi repeated, scooting towards her warily.

"Don't you dare 'Yukiko' me!" She snarled, her eyes flashing menacingly at him.

He backed away from her, fearing for his life.

She glanced from Okita, who had surprise and confusion etched on his face, to Takumi, who was trying to placate her with his eyes, and she rounded on the latter. "Tell me," she hissed. "What kind of monster am I?"

"You're human!" He whispered back.

"How can I be human if I've been going around murdering people like this?!" She pointed furiously at the corpse. "And you," her finger moved to rest on Takumi, "you knew that I was this monster going around killing those innocent people, didn't you?!"

"I-"

"Don't lie to me!" She lashed out.

Takumi pushed himself to his feet and glared at her. "You're right! I _did_ know!

"Why didn't you ever tell me?!" She was almost on the verge of sobbing.

"Because I didn't think that you needed to know!"

"Why?! Something on such a level as this, I would want to know!"

"Would you believe me if I told you? And if I did, you sure as hell wouldn't be able to handle it!"

"I can handle it!" She shouted in indignation.

Takumi let out a derisive laugh. "Oh, because you're handling it _so well_ right now, aren't you?"

Yukiko's lips snapped shut and she glared at him with fury. He didn't back down but rather, returned her glare with just as much intensity.

Okita smiled to himself and stood up. "So, um, is it alright if I ask a question?"

Yukiko and Takumi glanced at the man in surprise. They had almost forgotten he was there. "W-what is it?" Yukiko glanced away angrily.

Okita turned to Takumi. "How long has she's been like this?"

Takumi glowered at him. "It started pretty recently. I'm not sure what triggered it though."

"When does this...other side of her appear?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. When she's asleep, it seems like."

Okita smirked. "Then, if you've known this about her, why haven't you done anything about it? How come you haven't tried to stop her? Why is she still going around killing people?"

Yukiko's heart was racing, waiting for Takumi's answer,

"I have." Came his response. "Once before, but this was the result." He tugged on the collar of his dark-brown kimono until it slid from his shoulders, and then he pulled down his black hakama so that it rested slightly below the beginning of his scars.

Yukiko's black eyes traveled from where the three puckered, red welts started, on his left hip, just above the waistband of his hakama, to where they ended, under his right collar bone.

"I did that?" She whispered, horrified.

Takumi gave her a bitter smile. "I called your name, like he did," he nodded a Okita, "but unfortunately your reaction wasn't the same, and it turned out like this."

Yukiko stared at the scars in horror, her pupils dilating. Her breath came out as uneven hiccups. _"How? How could I be such a..._monster_?"_ She raised her bloodstained hands to her face, and tearing at her hair, she let out a long, ear-splitting shriek before turning and bolting from the scene.

"Shit!" Takumi cursed silently, awkwardly pulling up his kimono and glaring daggers in the direction she had gone. "She's mentally unstable. We need to split up and find her before she does something stupid." He hissed at Okita.

The green-eyed man nodded. "If I find her, I'll take her back home." He sprinted down the street after her.

_"Where is that stupid girl?"_ Okita growled to himself as he combed the streets for Yukiko. _"Damn it, why do I always end up having to take care of her? That one time when Serizawa-san broke her fingers, and now..."_ He chuckled. _"I guess this is my redemption for _that_ time."_

Okita was just about ready to give up when he saw a head poking out from the side of the riverbank. He sighed and slid down the bank to come to rest beside the girl.

Her eyes flickered to him, and then she quickly glanced away when she saw who it was. "What do you want?"

"I'm supposed to bring you home."

"Why bother?" She scoffed. "Wouldn't you rather gloat instead?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You were right, weren't you? That time when you told me 'my eyes are never wrong,' you were going to kill me because I was the monster, right? But you didn't have enough proof then. Now that you're positive, why haven't you killed me yet?"

Okita groaned and rolled his eyes at her words. "You're such an infuriating woman! I've already told you I was never going to kill you!"

"I've been going around murdering people! I deserve to die!"

He stood up. "Well, if you want to die, then that's your own prerogative, but don't expect me to help you. That's way too troublesome." He reached down and grabbed her left hand. "Come on. Now that it seems like you've cooled your head a bit, I need to get you home before that annoying bastard starts nagging at me."

Yukiko followed him lifelessly. "So why didn't you kill me that one time?"

"You're still on that?"

"Just answer the question."

Okita was silent for a moment. "I have my reasons."

The two of them didn't exchange another word until they had almost reached Yukiko's rundown shack, where they were intercepted by Takumi.

He doubled over in front of them, panting. "Thank god you've found her."

Yukiko gave him a withering glare.

Okita arched an eyebrow and smirked. "Now then, since I've gone through so much trouble for you and this girl, I wonder what I should do?"

Takumi hissed as he sucked in a breath of air through clenched teeth. "Don't tell _anyone_ about this, please!"

"Well, I can't guarantee anything, but I _do_ think I deserve a payment."

Takumi's amber eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

Okita's mischievous smirk widened. "I don't want anything from _you_, but rather _her_." He turned to Yukiko, and before she could respond in any way, he leaned down and his soft lips captured hers.

Yukiko stood there, shock rendering her unable to move. When he finally pulled away, her jaw slowly fell open. "Y-you bastard!" She shouted, blushing furiously.

"You must be feeling better if you can yell at me like that." He turned around and glanced back at Takumi, whose face was as dark as the night sky. Okita shot him a condescending look. "Thanks for the kiss!" He swept a thumb over his lower lip and strutted away.

Yukiko whirled around and stalked back to the house, a hand clasped over her mouth, her face the shade of red she hated the most.

Takumi jogged after her, and, stretching out a hand, he grabbed her shoulder. "Hey, Yukiko, don't get too close to that guy, Okita. I don't trust him. He's too sly."

Yukiko glowered at him. "I don't think you're in a position to be saying anything."

He sighed and pursed his lips tightly. "Listen, I'm sorry, really, but I was just trying to protect you from yourself!"

She stared at him with narrowed eyes; then her fingers curled into a fist, and she punched him in the stomach as hard as she could.

He coughed and staggered back a few steps. "What was that for?" He wheezed.

"I'll let you off with just that," she snarled. "Because you're right. I wouldn't have believed you if you had just told me."

* * *

Okita sighed as he sat down in the dimly lit meeting room.

"What about Heisuke and Shinpachi?" Sano asked.

Hijikata shook his head. "They won't be participating in this. Heisuke's too young to get involved in this sort of thing, and I don't want to have to force Shinpachi to choose which side to take."

"What are you talking about, Hijikata-san?" Okita blinked.

"Tomorrow night, we will assassinate Serizawa-san."

"The higher ups in the Aizu Domain have given us a direct order to dispose of him." Kondou elaborated.

Delight slowly crept its way onto Okita's face.

"So this is what's going to happen." Hijikata frowned. "Tomorrow night, we'll all invite him out for a drink. When he decides to leave, three of us, Sannan-san, Souji, and I, will escort him back home. The two of you," he nodded at Sano and Inoue, "will stay here and keep a lookout around his room. I don't want anyone from outside messing up our plans. When he is in his room, the four of us will ambush him. Harada, you'll take up position by the gate at that point. Make sure no one comes in."

Okita snickered. "Finally, I can kill that bastard be rid of him for good!"

Hijikata's violet eyes narrowed at his comment. "Souji, if you don't feel like you're up for this job, I can replace you with Saito."

"No way, Hijikata-san! I've been more than ready for this for a while now!"

Hijikata stared at him for a moment before continuing. "Saito, Kondou-san, I want you two to stay at Shimabara. Kondou-san, I don't want you to dirty your hands for such a thing. Saito, if Heisuke, Ryunosuke, or Shinpachi catch a whiff of what's going on, I need you to stop them from coming back, especially Shinpachi and Ryunosuke. If they choose Serizawa-san over us, we'll have no choice but to kill them, and I'd rather prevent that from happening if I can. Do whatever you need to to stop them."

Saito nodded once. "I understand."

There was a lull of silence in which no one spoke, letting the gravity of the situation sink in.

Sannan-san cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well, on a brighter note though, those mysterious murders seemed to have stopped since the last one about a month ago."

Yukiko's blushing face floated to the top of Okita's memories at these words, and he chuckled.

"Souji?" Saito shot his friend a concerned glance.

"Is there something funny?" Sano asked.

"No, no." He replied dismissively, trying to contain his laughter, running a large hand through his fringe. "I just remembered something."

"Then, if that's all, then this meeting is dismissed. Tomorrow's task is an important one; we can't afford to screw up, so I need all of you to do your jobs properly, Souji." Hijikata shot him a warning glance.

"Yes, yes, I'll be sure to do my job properly, Hijikata-san." He drawled sarcastically. He pushed himself to his feet and stretched. Sliding the door open, he glanced back. "I look forward to tomorrow."

Stroking his chin, he chuckled softly to himself as he sauntered down the dark hallway. _"Watanabe Yukiko, she reminds me of that girl. Their eyes were the same that time." _Okita shook his head. _"But it can't be. It's too much of a coincidence. They can't be the same person."_

* * *

Okita smirked as he pressed himself against the wall beside the door to Serizawa's room. He glanced up at Hijikata who occupied the space on the opposite side of the door. They exchanged a curt nod before simultaneously reaching down and throwing the door open. Together, the two of them, plus Sannan-san burst into Serizawa's room, only to find the large man already waiting for them, holding his katana, buried in its sheath, in his large, calloused hands.

"Give it up, Serizawa-san!" Hijikata bared his teeth. "You're surrounded, and not even _you_ can take on all of us!"

Serizawa snorted. "Are you prepared for the consequences of killing me?"

Hijikata's piercing, purple eyes narrowed, and his fingers tightened around the hilt of his katana. "For the Shinsengumi, I am willing to become even the demon itself." Dropping his sword down to his right hip, he sprang forward and swung his blade upward to slash at the man.

Grinning, Serizawa swiftly pulled his weapon from its holder and threw the sheath aside. He grunted as Hijikata's blade met his with a metallic _clang_. A flash of lightning illuminated the large room with futons and sheets decorating the floor. A beautiful woman's pale, lifeless figure was visible between the sheets only for a moment before the light died, followed moments later by the crack of thunder and the slow, steady shower of rain. His grin widening, Serizawa pushed Hijikata back with so much strength the man with long, back hair was forced to stumble outside into the garden and rain. At the same time, Okita and Sannan-san charged at the large man, but with a flick of his wrist, Sannan-san was pinned to the wall, and Okita was sprawled against the wooden planks of the porch outside the room.

"Stop guys, don't kill him!" An unexpected voice shouted out.

"Ibuki-kun, what are you doing here?!" Inoue's arm circled around the boy's waist, keeping him from bursting into the middle of the fight.

Sano rounded the corner and growled angrily, "Ryunosuke, you idiot! Why did you come here?!"

"Harada, what about your post?" Hijikata wiped the dirt off his face with the back of his hand.

"Heisuke's covering it."

Ryunosuke struggled against the arm holding him back. "Don't kill Serizawa-san! He's fighting an illness!"

"Dogs should stay out of their masters' affairs." Serizawa sniffed; then he chuckled. "The way you guys are right now, you'll never be able to defeat me, especially if I have something like this." From within the folds of his kimono, he pulled out a small crystal vial. The red liquid inside sloshed around as he uncorked it.

"The Ochimizu!" Sannan-san gasped.

"Serizawa-san, no!" Ryunosuke cried.

With a laugh, Serizawatilted his head back and threw the contents of the vial down his throat. As his hair turned white and his eyes turned red, the vial slipped from his hand and landed on the tatami floor with a muted _ting_. Serizawa brushed past Okita and leapt heavily into the garden to stand in front of Hijikata, they stared at each other: Serizawa with a sneer on his face, and Hijikata with a snarl on his. With one last heave, Ryunosuke broke free from Inoue and ran towards Serizawa.

"Serizawa-san!" He shouted.

The giant, white-haired man grabbed the boy's head between his large, left hand, and threw him back against a tree, knocking the breath out of him. Ryunosuke slid to the ground in pain. Lunging forward, Hijikata tried to stab Serizawa, but the impact of Serizawa's blade on his made his own fly out of his hands. Serizawa chuckled. "Hmph, you guys are too slow." He turned around and parried Sano's spear. During this opening, he raised a leg and kicked the auburn-haired man in the stomach. Sano stumbled back, wheezing and clutching his stomach. Okita growled as he rushed forward, his sword raised high aove his head. Ducking under the blade, Serizawa wrapped an arm around Okita's chest, and with a leg, he kicked the sandy-haired man's feet out from beneath him. Then he slammed Okita into the ground below. The ground had only been partially softened by the rain, and Okita let out a gasp, his eyes watering as he coughed to disperse the pain radiating down his spine.

Hijikata shook his drenched hair out of his face as he pulled his sword from the ground. Turning around, he saw Serizawa facing him. Grinning, Serizawa raised his sword and ran at Hijikata who crouched down, the tip of his blade pointing up. When Serizawa had neared, Hijikata bolted up and pushed his sword info his opponent's chest, piercing his heart. Serizawa's sword stopped centimeters away from Hijikata's head, and he smiled peacefully.

"Serizawa-san!" Ryunosuke cried hoarsely.

"You've still got some work to do." Seizaea whispered to Hijikata, before his eyes closed.

Hijikata pulled the sword out of the dead man's chest and stepped out from under him. Everyone watched with bated breaths as Serizawa fell forward into the mud, and the rain water pooling around him turned red.

With a frightened gasp, Ryunosuke pushed himself up to his feet and scrambled away as fast as he could. Glancing in the direction he had run off in, Hijikata sighed and flicked the crimson like off his blade before sheathing it. "We need to find him."

Okita smirked, his green eyes glittering. "That means 'kill him' right, Hijikata-san?" There was only silence as his response. "You got it." Laughing to himself excitedly, Okita ran out of the compound.

As he hurried down the streets, Okita thought to himself, _"it's a pain running in the rain. Where could that kid have gone?" _Contrary to his excited feeling before, he felt rather annoyed as the rain drenched him to the bones. _"Man, I always feel like I'm looking for someone. I didn't even get a hit on Serizawa-san before it was over."_ He squinted his eyes, trying to see through the pouring rain. _"Now, where would I go if I were running away from people trying to kill me?" _Okita's eyes narrowed. _"The bridge." _Then he groaned._ "But that's on the other side of town. What a pain in the ass!"_

Sometime along the way, the intense, pouring rain had stopped, leaving behind soft, slick, slippery mud. When all that separated Okita from the bridge was a row of shops, he slipped into the dark, shadowed alley between two buildings, grimacing as he stepped in another puddle of mud and rainwater. He quietly shuffled to the other side of the alley, and smiled when he saw Ryunosuke doubled over, gasping for breath, just in front of the wide, wooden bridge. Unsheathing his katana, Okita stepped forward, into the moonlight. "What a pity you had to be found by me of all people." He called out, sarcasm lacing his voice, and a mock-apologetic expression on his face.

Ryunosuke whirled around and tried to scramble back, but slipped on a patch of mud. Using his hands and feet, he pushed himself away from the approaching man. "W-what are you doing here?!"

Okita's slim eyebrows shot up, but the Cheshire smile remained on his lips. "Huh? Didn't you run away knowing that we couldn't let you live after what you just saw?"

Scraping up a handful of dirt, he tossed it at Okita who expertly blocked it with his hand. Ryunosuke shot to his feet and bolted onto the bridge. Okita watched him with amusement before reaching into the folds of his kimono and pulling out a handcrafted dart. With an agile flick of his wrist, he dart soared through the air and planted itself in Ryunosuke's calf, just above his Achilles' tendon. The boy tripped and fell forward with a _thud_. Okita walked leisurely onto the bridge and stood behind the boy who was struggling to stand. The corners of his mouth twitched when Ryunosuke finally stood. The boy gasped and his eyes widened when he saw Okita standing behind him, his sword in his right hand, glinting in the bright moonlight. Ryunosuke backed away in fear, his eyes trained on the cold mask gracing Okita's face. Okita slowly stepped towards him until he had trapped the boy against the railing on the bridge, he glanced down at the surging, black water below the bridge and his green eyes narrowed.

Gulping, Ryunosuke's eyes darted around, trying unsuccessfully to find a way to escape. He opened his mouth to reason with the man standing before him, but he was cut off. "Too bad things had to turn out this way." Okita's smirk seemed almost lethal on its own. He placed a hand on Ryunosuke's chest.

"Wait!" Ryunosuke cried, but Okita had already shoved his hand against the boy's chest, on the spot where his heart was beating wildly. Ryunosuke's eyes widened and he tried to scream, but his voice and breath had failed him as he fell down and the waves of the gushing river raised their arms to embrace him and accept him. The last thing he saw was Okita's grinning face.

"Bye." Okita called into the river. "This is probably the last time we'll see each other." Sheathing his blade in satisfaction, Okita turned to leave, but a girl's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"O-Okita-san?"

He glanced up in surprise to see Yukiko standing at the base of the bridge.


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, I _did _say that I would try to have this chapter up within a few days, but this far exceeded my expectations. I'm actually really surprised I managed to get this done in only a couple of days! I'm also really worried about my ability to procrastinate so badly on my homework without worrying about it at all...well, now that I've finished this chapter, it might be a good idea to start my calculus homework...and my bio and organic chem homework too...*sigh***

Ainhoa11: **haha, yeah, he sort of _did_ have it coming. Thank you!**

Lily: **Thanks! I'm glad you like my story!**

Hikiri: **yup, he's in this chapter! Near the end.**

AmazeBallsWomp: **well, maybe she did...a bit...Hahaha ;D omg, are you serious?! *.* time to go scour youtube for those dub videos!**

luvJesusInHeavn: **Thanks! Yeah, you're right. I hope you like this chapter!**

**I hope you guys enjoy this! Please review peoples! **

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"Okita-san?" Yukiko repeated, staring at the man with her mouth slightly agape. "What are you doing here?"

Okita relaxed slightly and walked towards her. "What are _you_ doing here? It's late."

"I-I was taking a walk." Her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced at the river. "But, did you just push someone into that river?"

"Oh, there's a good reason for that. We were actually supposed to kill him if we found him, but I figured that, rather than running him through with my katana, he would have a better chance of surviving if I pushed him into the river." He chuckled softly.

"Why were you ordered to kill him?" Yukiko frowned.

"He saw something he shouldn't have seen." Okita replied vaguely.

"What did he see?"

He wagged a finger at her. "Be careful. If you pry any deeper, we might have to kill you too!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Or are you just joking with me again?"

"Who knows. Care to find out?" He shrugged.

Yukiko scowled at him, cursing him and his damned personality. She scoffed. "Not especially."

Suddenly, Okita reached down and grabbed her chin, causing her to cry out in surprise.

"W-what is it?" She gasped, her dark-brown eyes widening.

"Hmm...," was Okita's only response.

Yukiko felt slightly unnerved as Okita's piercing forest-green eyes examined her face closely. "What is it?" She repeated.

"You." His eyebrows twitched. "Have you been sleeping?"

"What?" She pushed him away.

"You've got black rings and bags under your eyes."

A blush slowly crept into her cheeks. "I know. You don't have to point it out." She sniffed.

"Ah, so that's why you're taking a walk so late at night. I see. Well, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but it's only a temporary solution to a problem. You'll wear yourself out sooner or later. Maybe a few months most. You can go a few months with very little sleep if you try hard enough."

"I know." She glowered at the ground. "But how can I sleep peacefully knowing that I'll turn into that monster when I do?"

Okita turned to leave. "Well, like I said, I'm not going to tell you what to do." He raised his hand in a wave.

Yukiko gasped and her head shot up. "Wait! Get back here! I still haven't confronted you about that k-kiss!" She stumbled over the last word in embarrassment.

"What, that? I thought that was my payment for sending you back?"

"Payment my ass!" She shrieked. "Get back here you bastard! I'll give you a proper payment!"

Okita chuckled. "No thanks. I'll take the kiss." He glanced back at the fuming girl. "Oh, also be careful. You're not the only person wandering the streets at night." After he had thrown this warning over his shoulder, he rounded a corner and was gone.

"What was _that_ all about?" She muttered to herself, sending a withering glance at the corner Okita had disappeared around before whirling around and stomping away.

* * *

A large man with dark-brown hair and a wide-set nose flopped down onto the ground with a grunt, cradling a large jug of sake in his arms. Beside him, a smaller man with thinning black hair sat down.

"Ando, Murata, you're too slow. I was just about to send someone out to search for you two." Yukiko joked, teasing her lower lip between her teeth.

Ando chuckled. "Sorry boss, but we decided to splurge today. Instead of the cheap sake you told us to buy, I decided to to for the more expensive one, since it's a special occasion."

"Yup." Murata grinned. "We also bought some dango!" He held up four packages carefully wrapped with bamboo leaves.

Yukiko chuckled begrudgingly. "I swear, if you keep this up, we'll be homeless before the end of the year."

"Aw, come one boss, it's only for today." Murata handed her one of the packages.

She was practically drooling as she opened it and pulled out two skewers of dango. Handing one to Takumi who was sitting beside her, she eagerly bit into the other one in her hand and savored the sweetness from the red bean paste that filled her mouth. "Well, I'm not complaining. It's been ages since I've had one of these!" Her eyes landed on Ando pouring sake into several smaller jugs. "Oh, none for me. I'll just have some tea instead." She nimbly stood up and picked her way to the kitchen where she sprinkled a few tea leaves into a worn cup and poured in the hot water she had been boiling earlier.

Ando glanced back at her. "But boss, it's a special occasion! Surely one sip won't hurt!"

Yukiko frowned at him as she returned back to her seat. "Not a chance. You've already used that line on me. It's not going to work again." She grinned. "Besides, I don't need sake if I have this!" She held up another skewer of dango.

Takumi snorted. "You're going to get fat."

Her left eye twitching, Yukiko punched his right arm, causing some of his sake to slosh over the side of the small saucer in his hand.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, trying to stifle a chuckle. "Don't waste premium sake!"

She tilted her head to the side and pouted teasingly. "Should I sew your lips shut?"

"Now, now guys." Ando raised his saucer, his brown eyes twinkling. "Happy new year!" He tossed his head back and threw the sake down his throat."

As the night dragged on, faces became redder, and voices became louder and merrier. Yukiko was laughing at a story Takumi had just told, when all of a sudden, Murata prostrated himself in front of her feet. "Boss!" He cried.

Yukiko blinked in surprise. "W-what is it, Murata? What's gotten into you?" She eyed his scarlet face with slight disdain and made to move his sake jug away from him to discourage any more drinking. "I think you've had enough to drink. Maybe you should lay off the alcohol for a bit before you accidentally kill yourself."

"Boss, I'm sorry!" He shouted, seemingly unable to hear her words.

Her hands stopped in midair as she frowned. "Are you okay? Why are you apologizing?"

"I have something to confess to you!"

"W-what is it?"

"The truth is, I've known all along that you're a...you're a..."

"Hey, Murata, I hope you're not about to say what I think you're going to say!" Ando cautioned.

But Murata ignored him. "You're a girl!"

Ando slapped a hand to his face and groaned.

Yukiko's jaw worked up and down, trying to find the right words to say. "H-how long?"

"A long time." Ando replied for Murata who was still lying prone on the ground.

"Oh...I see..." She picked up a skewer of dango and bit into it.

Murata raised his head in confusion. "You're not angry?"

"Why would I be?" She asked through a mouthful of rice flour and red bean paste. "I mean, it's not like I was trying to hide it anyway. I was just why you were mentioning it now of all times." She paused. "Why? Do you _want_ me to be angry?"

Murata waved his hands in front of him. "No, no! Of course not!"

"Wait!" Kimura exclaimed, looking more shocked than he had ever been. "Wait, I never knew you were a g-girl! Since when has everyone known?!"

Ando's booming laughter resounded through the small living room. "Of course you would be the only who _didn't_ know, Kimura."

Soon the room was once again filled with the sound of joking and laughter. Yukiko smiled as she surveyed the room before glancing at Takumi. "Come with me. We need to talk." She stood up and led him out of the room and into her own. She lit the lamps in her room as Takumi took a seat on the tatami. When she had finished, she sat down in front of him.

"What did you want to talk about?" He asked, sighing.

"There was another murder a couple of days ago."

"What about it?"

"Was it me?"

He sighed again and nodded reluctantly. "Yes. It was."

"And you covered for me again."

He nodded.

"Have you always covered for me like this?" She asked, playing with her fingers. Her eyes darted around the room nervously, picking out the dancing shadows from the dim light painting the walls.

"Yes."

"Why?" Her voiced tightened as she spoke through clenched teeth. "Why do you protect me like this?"

Takumi's light eyes narrowed. They seemed to almost glow in the dusky room. "Do we have to talk about this now?"

"I want to know!" She cried out. "Why? Why do you go to such lengths to protect me! If anyone ever finds out our secret, you and I will _both_ be killed! Why don't you wash your hands free of me, of my problems?!"

Takumi glared at her. "I have no wish to discuss this." He stood up and headed for the door.

Yukiko scrambled up and bolted in front of him, blocking his means of escape. "Answer my question!"

"Get out of my way!" He growled, trying to reach around her to slide the door open. But Yukiko pressed herself against the exit. His chest rumbled when she refused to move. "Why does it matter to you so much?! Can't you just accept the fact that I _do_?!"

"No, I can't! There has to be a reason for you to do this for me, and I want to know why! Please tell me! I want - no, I _need_ to know!"

Takumi stared down at her, his eyes round spheres of irritation, passion, and some other emotion Yukiko could not place. A vein in his head throbbed at her obstinacy. "Fine. You really want to know?"

She nodded eagerly, albeit a bit warily, waiting for his answer.

He cupped a cool hand over her chin and rested the other one on her shoulder. Then he leaned down until his lips hovered centimeters away from hers. Yukiko's eyes widened slowly, but the muscles in her arms and legs were paralyzed, rendering her unable to move properly. He spoke softly and his warm breath washed over her. "Because I love you." He closed the distance between them and forcefully, yet still gently, pressed his lips against hers.

* * *

_Crack!_ The sound of wood clashing against wood reverberated through the crisp, cold, January morning. The bare skeletons of the trees lining the courtyard were sparkling with morning dew that melted as soon as the bright sun had risen. But the sunlight had not yet completely thawed the biting air. This, though, did not stop the two most, although somewhat disputably, terrifying and ferocious captains of the Shinsengumi from training together - a tradition that dated back to their early days in the Shiekan Dojo.

"Hmm? Hajime-kun, are you tired already? Your strikes keep getting weaker and weaker. Did you sleep enough last night?" Okita's emerald eyes sparkled with excitement.

"It's your imagination, Souji. I suggest you focus on yourself rather than worry about me." Saito retorted.

"Always so callous!" Okita chuckled. "It's like you have a stick up your ass or something."

Saito's lips twitched ever so slightly; then his shoulders tensed as he pushed his friend back. Okita smirked as he sprung at Saito, bringing his bokuto up to meet his opponent's. The muscles in Saito's abdomen rippled as he easily blocked the attack. With quick, careful steps, he backed away from Okita. His lips parting, the purple-haired man lunged at the other samurai. Okita grunted, leaning his weight into his defense. Ducking out from under Saito's wooden training sword, he twisted his body around, and flexed his arm muscles as he raised his sword up in the air. But he had underestimated his opponent. Saito, anticipating the move, had whirled around, and within a second, the wooden sword was pressed against Okita's right waist.

Okita sighed despondently and lowered his bokuto. "I vote for a break before we continue again."

"I told you to watch out for yourself." Saito chastised as the seated themselves side-by-side on the wide, wooden stairs.

"Shut up Hajime-kun. No need to rub it in." Okita pouted, resting the bokuto between his legs. "Why don't you just become the captain of the first division instead?" Sulkily, he pulled Saito's white scarf from around his neck and slung it over his own.

Saito glanced at him, but made no move to take it back. "I'm comfortable with my division. Besides, it's yours."

There was a long pause. Okita tilted his head to the side to gaze at his best fried. His green eyes followed a drop of sweat as it made its way down the man's chiseled face, over his angular jaw bone, and then down his pale neck. Okita's eyes wandered back to the baby-blue sky and he wiped away the sweat dotting his forehead. "Hey, Hajime-kun."

He was met by a short pause before Saito responded. "What is it?"

Okita's voice dropped until it was almost a whisper. "Have you ever been in love?"

Saito glanced at him in surprise. Then he looked away when he confirmed that his friend was serious. "No, never. Why?" He replied curtly.

"Don't tell anyone else, okay, Hajime-kun? I trust you."

Saito nodded slowly.

"There's this girl, and whenever I see her, she always makes me feel annoyed and irritated, but whenever she's in trouble, I can't stop myself from helping her." He scoffed. "It doesn't make sense, right?"

"What's your point?" Saito frowned slightly.

"My point _is_," Okita huffed, "that I might be in love with her."

"Who is this girl?"

"No one you know, Hajime-kun." He shook his head. "But that's not important. Anyway, I was saying that I _might_ be in love with her, but the thing is, there's this other girl that I met when I was a kid back at Shiekan. I don't know her name, but, I really liked her. She reminded me of my old self, but due to various reasons, I ran away from her." Okita laughed. "Well, I felt pretty guilty about that. I still do. I don't know if she's still alive or not, but I wanted to find her. She might remember me."

Saito's dark-blue eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't dwell on the past."

Okita arched an eyebrow. "Are you telling me to forget the girl from my childhood?"

"Souji, I'm not an expert in matters pertaining to love."

Okita let out a begrudging laugh. "You sure as hell got _that_ right, but neither am I." He pushed himself to his feet. "Enough talking. Let's go practice again. I swear I'll kick your ass this time so you'd better watch out for yourself." He handed the white scarf back to his friend

Saito smiled faintly and wrapped the scarf back around his neck before picking up his wooden training sword.

"Souji."

Okita and Saito turned around to see Kondou standing behind them on the porch.

"What is it, Kondou-san?" Okita raised his eyebrows.

"I need to talk to you about something." Kondou answered seriously.

"Alright." Okita's eyes flickered to Saito. "I'll be back in a bit."

Saito nodded and Okita stomped up the rest of the stairs to follow Kondou to the meeting room.

Kondou sat down next to Hijikata and, after Okita had closed the door, he flopped down in front of them. "What did you need to talk to me about, Kondou-san?" He asked. He glanced from the vice-commander to the captain. Both wore a solemn expression on their faces.

"It hasn't even been two weeks yet, and the citizens of Kyoto are worried about being murdered at night." Hijikata growled in his rough voice, getting right to the point.

Kondou picked up for him. "Right before the new year, there was another murder, even though it's been a few months since the last one. People are afraid it's starting up again, and the Aizu have also decided that it has become a problem." Kondou's eyes rested on Okita's troubled visage. "This is a mission only for you, Souji. I trust that you can deal with it without any problems. Do what you need to to dispose of this monster killing people. If it comes down to it, kill it."


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm sorry for not getting this chapter up sooner. I was running on about 12 hours of sleep all last week, and I almost collapsed at work a few days ago from sleep deprivation. It was my fault though. I procrastinated earlier, and I paid the price for it. Anyway, about this chapter, it didn't really turn out the way I wanted it to, and I'm not particularly satisfied with it. Hopefully you guys find it okay though!**

luvJeasusInHeavn:** haha, well, it _is_ a drama.**

Hikiri:** hopefully I can add more Saito scenes in here. He and Okita are best friends after all. Idk if Okita will be going to him for any more love advice though.**

AmazeBallsWomp: **no, it's not bad at all. I personally love Okita. I find him to be a very tragic person, and I don't envy his life at all.**

Ainhoa11:** thank you! I'm happy you liked the party scene, and that you like Takumi!**

gozita444:** I don't know. She might come to love Takumi...but this _is_ an Okita x Oc story!**

lunar9ueen:** you're welcome. Yeah, it had to be Kondou. If it were anyone else, I doubt Okita would listen.**

yukiko:** ummm...thanks? I'm glad you liked it more than my first story...I don't know if you saw the warning in my A/N, but I _did_ say that I would be following the anime route. I'm not going to make any excuses for myself, and I doubt you care, but it's the first time I've written anything of this caliber, and truthfully, that's the easiest way for me to build my foundation. I won't say my writing is anything spectacular, I feel that it is mediocre at best, nor will I say that I have a plethora of imagination, I actually feel like it's something that I lack, but I'm not going back to change my first story. I'm done with it. I'm sorry you disliked it, but in all honesty, I have no idea why you read it if you disliked it so much. The only thing I will focus on is making this story better.**

**i hope you guess like this chapter more than I do, and please remember to review!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Yukiko stirred and rolled over in her futon so that she was facing the sliding door. She strained her ears, listening to the sounds of the quiet house. There was a creak, followed by a small shuffling noise. Frowning, she slowly threw aside the covers and slid rather reluctantly from the warm mattress. After she had pushed open the door open a crack, she peered into the dark hallway. Her eyes captured the faint image of a back floating down the hall.

"Takumi." She whispered to herself before silently shoving the door out of her way and tiptoeing to the front door. She warily followed Takumi down the empty, moonlit street; her heart pounded, and the pit of her stomach dropped down to the dusty ground when she realized where he was headed towards. _"What the hell is he doing _here_?!"_ She thought to herself in horror and disbelief. _"He's been gone for a week. Is this where he's been staying at?!"_ She hid herself behind one of the large columns of the grand gate and watched as Takumi entered and was immediately accosted by two, beautiful, young women with golden hairpins in their elaborately styled hair. She scowled as they grabbed Takumi's arms and tugged at him teasingly.

"Koyama-han!" They trilled in high-pitched, lilting voices. "You promised you'd come play with us!" Their lower lip stuck out in a pout.

"Yes, yes, alright, you two." Takumi chuckled and leaned down, kissing the pale, porcelain cheek of one girl, then the next. The ends of his shaggy, black hair playfully skimmed the collars of their similar, scarlet kimonos. The girls blushed and tittered behind elegant hands.

Yukiko's teeth clenched together so hard it felt as if they would shatter at any moment. With burning eyes, she ran back to her house, away from Shimabara, the red-light district, away from Takumi. Right before she could enter the old, dilapidated building that was her home, she collapsed right in front of the door. Her fists were trembling with fury. _"That bastard! He disappears for a week without any word. Has he been playing around with those whores all that time?!_" She sighed and leaned her head back against the side of the house. Feeling drained, she tried to control her tears, and slowly, her eyelids drooped shut.

"Boss, boss! Hey! Wake up! What are you doing out here?!"

Her eyes fluttered open, and she could barely make out a blurry image standing in front of her. The morning sun seemed too bright, and she groaned. "Ando, is that you?" She croaked.

"Did you sleep out here the entire night?" He asked aghast. "It's January!"

She shook her head to rid the ringing in her ears. "About that..." Exhaustedly, her eyes closed and she felt her body heavily tilt to the side and a pair of strong arms catch her. A large hand pressed itself against her forehead.

"Hey, boss, you're burning up with a fever! This is what you get for sleeping outside in the middle of winter!"

Yukiko groaned, too unfocused to respond.

Ando lifted her up and carried her back into her room, tucking her into her futon. "Where is that Takumi? He's been missing for so long." He griped. "I'm going to go find him. Get some sleep."

Yukiko grabbed the bottom of his hakama. "No, don't."

He shot her a disapproving glance. "Don't be stupid. Sleep. I'll be back soon." Carefully, he shut the door behind him.

Yukiko didn't know how much time had passed when she felt someone placing a cold, damp rag on her forehead. She stirred. "Takumi?"

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"I thought you were with those girls at Shimabara."

There was a pause, but the silence seemed to drag on forever. "You saw?"

She nodded, coughing slightly. "I followed you. Why? I thought you said you loved me."

Takumi scoffed and looked away. "Do _you_ love me?"

She struggled to sit up. "Yes, of course, I-"

"But your love and my love are two different things."

"What do you mean?"

"You've only ever seen me as an older brother."

Yukiko leaned forward. "I don't-"

"Because the one you love is Okita."

Her jaw dropped open. "Don't be ridiculous!" She snorted. "Me? Love that guy? Are you senile?"

"I've seen how you look at him, from the very beginning. Do you know how hard it is for me, knowing that I could never be anything more than a sibling?! The first time you laid eyes on Okita, it was like you had known him for ages! You've never looked at me like that before!"

"You're spouting nonsense."

"It's the truth."

"How long have you loved me?"

"Since the moment I was told we had to give you up. That was the moment I knew for sure."

"That was years ago!" She coughed and swayed, her cheeks flushed.

Takumi pushed her down rather forcefully. "Go to sleep. I don't want to talk about this anymore. Let's just forget about this and go back to how we were before I told you."

Yukiko reluctantly sank back into her pillow. "I'm sorry. I don't know if that's even possible though." She sighed before her eyelids closed again.

When he was sure she had fallen asleep, Takumi exited the room, only to find Ando waiting for him in the dark hallway. The large man stepped forward and punched Takumi in the face. Clasping a hand over the wound, Takumi braced himself against the wall, trying to muffle his cry so that he didn't wake the girl resting in the room.

"What was that for?!" He hissed in indignation.

"You know very well what it was for, and you have no right to say you didn't deserve it." Ando responded. "Really? Playing around in Shimabara? I've almost lost all of my respect for you. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to pull yourself together." Sniffing, he turned on his heels and stalked away.

"I know!" Takumi whispered with a strained voice. "I know that! You don't have to tell me!" His fingers curled into fists, and his eyes tightened.

* * *

A few days later, Ando opened the door to Yukiko's room, bearing two cups of tea. He handed one to the girl in bed, and the other to the man kneeling next to her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her, sitting down next to Takumi.

"Better, thanks. It was just a slight fever." Yukiko responded.

There was heavy thumping in the hall outside, and Ando whirled around just as Murata burst into the small, cramped room. "B-boss!" He gasped, his eyes wild with a mixture of fear and confusion.

"What is it, Murata?" Yukiko's brow furrowed.

"There's a guy from the Shinsengumi here! He says he wants to see you!"

"Who is he?"

"I don't know! He's got green eyes and light-brown hair!"

Her eyes widened and she threw aside the covers. "Okita-san! What does he want?" She quickly leapt out of the room.

Biting his lower lip, Takumi raced after her, pausing only to grab the katana she had forgotten in her haste, still propped against the wall beside the door.

Yukiko pushed the front door out of her way to see the Shinsengumi's first division captain standing outside, framed by the bright, morning sunlight. "Okita-san!"

"Yo, Yuki-chan." He greeted, grinning.

"What are you doing here?" She stepped out into the tiny garden. "And I thought I told you not to call me that." She added, frowning.

"I came to talk to you about several things." He replied, completely ignoring her last comment.

"Um, okay?" She backed up slightly, for the glint in his eyes had turned slightly dangerous.

"If I were to ask you who you'd protect, given the choice, would you choose to protect your family, or the person you loved?"

Yukiko's eyes narrowed. "Okita-san, what's going on?"

"Just answer the question." He snapped.

"Fine." She hissed, her eyes flickering to the house and back to the man standing several paces in front of her. "My family, I guess."

Okita smiled and relaxed slightly. "I thought you'd say that. So your choice is the same as mine. Well then, don't hate me too much for this, okay?" He smirked.

Yukiko's breath quickened as she saw Okita draw his katana menacingly. "What the _hell_ is going on?!"

"I told you, I'm protecting my family." With his katana raised, he charged at the girl.

With wide eyes, she fumbled for the katana strapped to her left hip, only to realize, too late, that she had left it in her room. There was a blur of motion as she twisted her body, trying to dodge the blow, and she heard the _clang_ as Okita's blade met someone else's. "Takumi!" She screamed.

"I thought I told you to always keep this by your side!" He growled at her over his shoulder. With a grunt, he shoved Okita off of him.

The man's green eyes sparkled with excitement. "You plan on fighting me?"

"You bastard! What's the meaning of this?!" Takumi sank into a fighting stance.

"You can ask the girl over there." Okita nodded at Yukiko. "I don't really feel like explaining it again." Smirking, Okita lunged at Takumi who parried the attack with shaky sweep of his sword. Elegantly, the green-eyed man circled behind the auburn-eyed man and stabbed at his mid-back. Sucking in a large breath of air, Takumi turned and the point of Okita's sword passed just centimeters from his waist.

"You two, stop this at once!" Yukiko snarled. "Okita-san, if you're here to arrest me, or whatever, I'll go with you, just please stop this insanity! Someone could get hurt, or die!" She rushed forward to try and break them apart, but was halted by Takumi's intense glare.

"Stay where you are!"

Okita chuckled at the other man. "How brave of you to protect someone else when you can barely even protect yourself."

Takumi's teeth clenched together and he charged forward with a snarl.

Cocking an eyebrow, Okita dodged the attack easily and kicked the man in the stomach with a raised foot. With a cough, Takumi fell to the ground heavily, but even though he was at a disadvantage, he still looked up mockingly at the man standing over him. The green-eyed man scoffed, his sword held loosely by his side in his right hand. "You're techniques are amateurish at best. No matter how many times we fight, the outcome will still be the same."

Takumi glared at him with loathing. "Do you plan on killing me and Yukiko, just like you killed my family three years ago?"

Okita looked taken aback for a moment. "I killed your family?"

Takumi spat. "You bastards in the Shinsengumi have no sense of right and wrong! You forced me to watch as my family was slaughtered in front of my eyes! And now you plan on killing Yukiko as well! I won't let you kill her! This time, I _will_ protect her!"

The man from the Shinsengumi stroked his chin, frowning down at the black-haired man on the ground. "I think I vaguely remember that incident. Did you live down near the river, on the other side of town?"

Takumi nodded angrily.

Okita smirked. "Do you want to know _why_ we killed them? I can't say anything for myself, but Kondou-san would never order us to kill anyone without a good reason. He's too kind for that. Sometimes I tell him there's no need to be so kind, but he never listens to me."

Scoffing, Takumi's light-brown eyes narrowed. "So you say."

Okita's face darkened. "Watch it. Don't say anything bad about our Commander, our you'll die before you find out the truth." They glared at each other before Okita relented. "Did you know your parents were meddling in illegal business?"

"What?! What are you talking about?!"

"Well, it seems like you don't. Your parents were smuggling in weapons illegally and selling them to rogues and the likes. You _know_ it's illegal to import and sell weapons without a license. Unfortunately for you and them, someone ratted, and we had to take care of it. It _is_ our job, after all, to keep the peace in Kyoto, and selling weapons to rogues is definitely _not_ keeping peace."

"You're lying! I don't believe you!" Takumi hissed, his hands were shaking with anger at his words.

Okita shrugged. "I couldn't care less if you believed me or not. But I think it's about time for you to die!" He raised his katana up and brought it down quickly. Takumi managed to get his sword up in time to block the attack. Pushing back, he managed to gain a few seconds to scramble back up to his feet.

"I _know_ my parents! They would never do that sort of thing!" He shouted.

"Apparently you didn't know them well enough." Okita sneered. His katana glinting in the bright sunlight, he lifted it up to chest height and charged at the man.

Her mind whirring, Yukiko stared at the scene unfolding before her, hardly able to comprehend what was going on. Takumi's parents illegal smugglers? The wonderful parents that had raised her for as long as they could? Okita here to kill her? Something in her mind clicked, and as she saw the sandy-haired, green-eyed man rushing at Takumi, she instinctively leapt forward, throwing herself between the man and the sword slicing through the air. She heard a gasp and a shout, and time seemed to slow down as the sharp, deadly point of Okita's blade inched near her pale, exposed throat.


	9. Chapter 9

**So, it's been awhile. I'm really sorry, again, for the extremely late update. I came down with the flu, and I just finally got over it a few days ago. This chapter is a little longer to make up for the time I didn't update and the time until my next update, which will probably not be anytime soon. There's a good reason for that too. I made it into the All-State orchestra! Yay! I'm the only cellist in my school who made it! It's a huge honor, playing with the best in the state, but unfortunately, that means I will be out of town, and missing school for three days. This also means that when I get back, I will have a shit-load of makeup work waiting for me. I kind of wanted to get two chapters up before I left, but I leave in a couple days, so I don't think that's going to happen. Anyway, I want to thank everyone who reviewed and favorited my oneshot! Thank you!**

gozita444:** thank you for your compliment! Your words mean a lot to me, and I'm sorry for not being able to update soon!**

Hikiri:** haha, man hussy, Lolz. Thank you! Don't worry, your scenes are amazing,**

luvJesusInHeavn:** I think you jinxed me because I actually ended up getting sick. Haha**

Ainhoa11:** Thank you! I was worried that Okita a bit OOC.**

AmazeBallsWomp: **Yeah, shizz happens to everyone.**

AniMe-AnGeL048221: **Thanks! I'm sorry for not updating soon!**

**Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

The tip of the silver, resplendent blade stopped a hair's breadth away from girl's throat. She gulped and small beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. Okita's breath came out as heavy gasps, and his eyes widened when he saw just how close he was to ending her life for good.

"You idiot! Why did you do something so dangerous?! What if I hadn't stopped in time?!" Okita snarled furiously.

Yukiko glared back at him. "What? You were going to kill me anyway!"

"I've already told you many times over that I was never going to kill you! If you keep making me repeat myself, I might _actually_ end up doing it!"

"Then what did you come here for?!"

"To bring you back to the Shinsengumi."

"And then you plan on killing her there." Takumi snorted.

Okita's green eyes flashed. "Shut your mouth. None of this concerns you."

"You bastard!" Takumi raised his sword, prepared to fight again, but Yukiko placed a hand on his chest, holding him at bay.

"I'll go." She said to Okita.

"Yukiko!" The man behind her tried to step forward, but she pushed him back.

"It's fine. I'll go with Okita-san to the Shinsengumi. Just stop fighting!"

"Don't go!"

"Takumi!" Yukiko shot him a warning glance. "Don't worry. I _will_ be back. I promise." She let her hand drop from his chest and stepped forward next to Okita. "Let's go."

Okita's lips curled into a smirk which he directed at Takumi before leading the way down the street.

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that I'm going around killing people?" Yukiko asked as soon as they were far away from her house.

"Who knows?" The man walking beside her shrugged his shoulders.

"What exactly do you plan on accomplishing by taking me to the Shinsengumi?"

"Hmm, that's for me to know and you to find out when we get there."

She frowned at him. "Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"Of what?"

"Giving noncommittal responses."

Okita burst out laughing. "Not really. I've been like this for pretty much as long as I can remember."

"Why can't you just give me a clear answer?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, wouldn't it be more fun if you found out for yourself?"

"You!" She was just about to come up with a suitable retort when she suddenly remembered something he had said earlier. "Hey, what did you mean earlier when you asked me who I would choose between my family and the person I love?"

"I mean that exactly."

"No, I meant that last part: 'the person I love.'"

He grinned. "Figure it out yourself. Oh look, we're here!"

"This conversation isn't over!"

"I think it's very much over. Now come on." He reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her through the large, wooden gate.

"H-hey, wait!" She cried, stumbling along behind him.

A pale, muscular man with long, violet hair looked up from his training as they burst into the courtyard. "Souji, what's going on?" He looked slightly startled.

"Don't worry about it, Hajime-kun. Where's Kondou-san?"

"In his room I think. But Souji..."

"Alright, I've got this under control." Okita tugged on Yukiko's hand and the two of them continued on.

"Um, Okita-san," Yukiko finally spoke up as they tramped down the wooden porch. "You can let go of my hand now."

He looked down at their entwined fingers in surprise, but then his lips curled into a Cheshire smile. "Don't want to."

Scowling and blushing, Yukiko tore her hand away. With the same mischievous smile on his face, Okita reached down and scooped up her hand once more, grasping it tightly so she wouldn't be able to escape again. "Okita-san, that hurts!" She cried out. His grip loosened slightly, but he didn't let go. Sighing in exasperation, she relented to having her hand be held by the man in front of her. But she didn't do so without one final glare at his broad back.

He snorted. "Do you like the view of my back, Yuki-chan?"

"I have no idea what you're blabbering about."

"What, you like my front view better? You should have said so earlier!" He could barely contain the laughter in his voice.

"I said no such thing. Stop twisting my words for your own convenience."

Okita was about to comment on her last sentence, but bit back his words as they had arrived at their destination. "Kondou-san." He addressed the closed door.

"Souji, is that you?" A kind voice sounded from inside the room. "Come in."

Politely sliding the door open, Okita led Yukiko into the large room. She could see the smile sliding off the man's face as the two of them sat down.

"Who is this? We don't generally allow strangers into the headquarters, Souji. You know that." Kondou chided sternly.

"I know, Kondou-san. But I think you'd allow this special case after hearing me out." Finally, Okita dropped her hand, moving instead to remove the katana and kodachi strapped to his left hip.

"Very well. I expect you to have a good explanation for me." Kondou nodded, allowing Okita to proceed with his statement.

"So, Kondou-san. You told me to get rid of the monster killing people, right?" The man nodded in confirmation and Okita continued. "Well, this is her."

Kondou frowned. "This isn't exactly the time for one of your jokes."

"I'm not joking."

Yukiko looked at the man's green eyes, and sure enough, they bore no hint of the usual mischievousness she was so used to seeing. It was now replaced by complete seriousness. She turned to the man in front of her. "Please don't kill me." She pleaded. "I'm not killing people because I want to!"

Kondou looked slightly pained. "Then why are you?"

She looked down at her hands resting in her lap. "I-I think I have some sort of split personality disorder. I mean, I can't even remember anything when I become this- this monster! Please, believe me! I think that if there's some way for me to get rid of this double side, I would stop killing people. I would do anything! Please!" She bowed her head, her eyes squeezed shut tightly.

Kondou clapped a hand to his face. "My god, a girl! She's only a girl! What have I done?! Thank god you have more sense than I do, Souji!" His eyes traveled over the girl bowing in front of him. "Raise your head. I'm sorry for ordering your death, really. Stay here. I promise the Shinsengumi will assist you in any way we can."

Yukiko gapped at him in shock. "Are you sure it's okay to agree so quickly? What if I'm a spy or something?"

The man nodded. "Yes, I've given that some consideration, but if Souji trusts you, then I will believe you too. Souji," he addressed the green-eyed man. "Take her to your room for now. I will discuss this with Toshi and the others first. But trust me. I will convince them to let you stay." He spoke reassuringly.

"Thank you!" Yukiko bowed again, and Kondou laughed heartily.

"There's no need for that!"

Okita stood up. "Now then, come on, Yuki-chan!" He reached out a hand for her to take, but she scowled at it.

"I can stand by myself, thank you very much."

He chuckled and leaned in. "I would learn to tone down that attitude of yours before your end up angering someone here."

"What do you mean by that?"

He straightened back up and stomped out of the room. "Oh, nothing much. Come on."

"Yes, yes, I'm coming." She grumbled, following him.

Upon entering his room, Okita pushed her inside and shut the door, leaning lightly against it, as if to block her only means of escape. "So, isn't it good you don't have to die?"

Yukiko glared at him. "I bet you were just waiting for a chance to kill me, weren't you?"

He stared at her innocently. "Well, if Kondou-san had ordered me to kill you during our little meeting, I wouldn't have hesitated to do it."

"You cold-blooded bastard." She sniffed. "You wouldn't have waited to take me outside so as not to stain the tatami in your beloved Captain's room?"

Okita burst into laughter and walked towards her. "You really are something else you know that? You're more worried about staining the tatami with your blood rather than death?"

She started. "Well, if you _were_ going to kill me, I doubt anything, save for an order from your beloved Captain would stop you."

He stopped, centimeters away from her, and grasped her chin between his index finger and thumb, tilting it up. "I think I've already told you a million times over that I'm not going to kill you. When will you get it into that thick skull of yours?"

Yukiko opened her mouth to snarl at him, but the door flew open and Okita's hand dropped away as he quickly whirled around. An enraged man with long, flowing black hair and violet eyes stormed into the room, Kondou following meekly behind him. "Toshi, calm down a bit."

"Hijikata-san, what are you doing?!" Okita glared at him.

"Move away, Souji." Hijikata shunted him to the side so that he was standing directly in front of the girl. "So she's the one?" He turned back to Kondou-san. "How could you carelessly agree to let her stay here?!"

"Hijikata-san, this isn't Kondou-san's fault!"

"Souji!" Hijikata's eyes flashed. "Be quiet! And you, come with me!" He reached down and grabbed Yukiko's arm roughly.

Her black eyes widened at this contact, and before she could think twice about her actions, she shoved Hijikata away and wrapped her arms around her torso, screaming as she trembled in fear.

"What's the matter with you!" Hijikata frowned at her with confusion. "Is there something you're hiding in your sleeves?" He grabbed her arm again, holding it tightly so that she couldn't pull away. Her screaming heightened, yet he didn't let go. Forcefully, he pushed up the dark-blue cloth covering her arm, revealing the maze of scars decorating her arm. Hijikata stared at it with horror, and his grip loosened ever-so-slightly, allowing Yukiko the chance to draw back her arm. Drawing the sleeve back down, she fell to her knees, huddling on the ground as she hugged her body and shook.

"Toshi!" Kondou's commanding voice rung out. "You've gone too far! Apologize now!"

"I-I'm sorry." He managed to choke out. "Fine." He sounded exasperated. "You can keep her here, but Souji, I want you to keep an eye on her at all times."

"Why don't you?!" Okita argued back.

"Souji!" Hijikata snarled.

"Fine, fine! Don't blame me if anything happens though!"

A large, muscular man with auburn hair loomed in the doorway. "What's all this commotion about?"

"Souji!" A high-pitched voice whined, and a young boy with long, brown hair popped his head around the side of the door. "Hajime-kun told me you brought a girl here! Where is she? I want to see her!" But his excited face dropped when his eyes landed on the girl kneeling on the floor. "That's her?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yukiko growled warily.

The young boy scratched his head. "Well, I don't know...I figured Souji would prefer someone a little more...you know...feminine..."

Okita chuckled.

"Heisuke, you're such a kid!" The auburn-haired man chided.

Heisuke bared his teeth like a dog being threatened. "Don't call me a kid! I can still kick your ass, Sano-san!"

"Oh really? Let's see your best shot." Sano grinned mockingly.

Kondou cleared his throat and silence immediately fell over the group. He turned to Yukiko. "Well, I _did_ invite you to stay with us, but we don't have any extra rooms for you. So there _is_ a slight problem of where you'll be sleeping."

Hijikata sighed in exasperation. "Kondou-san, you're always like this - too carefree. You should have thought this out before you asked her to stay."

The Captain laughed apologetically. "Sorry..."

"She can sleep in my room." Sano's eyes glinted excitedly.

"No way!" Heisuke's nose crinkled. "I bet you're thinking of something perverted!"

The other man chuckled. "_I'm_ not going to do anything to her. I'm just protecting her from Shinpachi!"

"No, no." Kondou shook his head vigorously. "I can't have a girl sleeping in the same room with a man!"

"I personally don't think there would be much of a problem if she shared a room with Souji." Hijikata said.

"Toshi!"

"Really Kondou-san. I doubt Souji would do anything to her. Plus it's like killing two birds with one stone. Some one will have to keep an eye on her at night anyway. It's more convenient this way."

"No way, Hijikata-san." Okita cocked an eyebrow. "Who said I wanted to watch her all night? That's a pain in the ass. I want to sleep too."

Yukiko scowled at the green-eyed man. "I guess the feeling's mutual. It just so happens that I trust you the least out of everyone here. Who knows what you might do to me at night." She turned to Hijikata. "If you don't trust me, why don't you just tie me up?"

The man stared at her for a moment before the corners of his lips twitched up into a small smile. "That's not a bad idea." His violet eyes flickered to Okita. "Souji, make sure you tie her up at night."

Okita glared at the vice-commander before smirking at the girl. "Well, I guess this could turn out to be interesting."

Kondou frowned. "But-"

"Kondou-san," Hijikata's voice softened a bit. "I want this to be resolved as quickly as possible, and this is the best way."

Heisuke pouted. "Hey, how come Souji gets to hog her all to himself?"

Hijikata's eyes narrowed at him. "Because he was the one who brought her here." His eyes traveled to Yukiko. "You're not allowed to leave this room." He growled. "Some one will be here later to look at you."

"Hijikata-san!" Heisuke whined.

"Just because I agreed to let her stay here doesn't mean I trust her. So I don't want her wandering about. I'll have someone bring her food to this room. Now let's go."

Sano and Heisuke sighed, but followed the vice-commander out of the room obediently, shutting the door behind them. As they walked away, Yukiko could hear them gossiping.

"So why _is_ she here?" She heard Heisuke ask.

"That isn't any of your business. Don't pry." Hijikata's deep voice ordered.

"Yuki-chan," Okita knelt down in front of her with a large grin on his face.

"W-what?" She glanced at him warily.

He leaned in closer, his eyes narrowing in excitement, and his smirk widening. "Now, since we're along, why don't we have some fun?"

Yukiko's hands flew up and she shoved him back. "No. Stay away from me."

Okita doubled over and coughed.

She reached out a hand as if to touch him, but stopped just short of doing so. "Hey, are you okay? Sorry, I pushed you a little too hard." She waited for him to respond, but his coughing didn't cease. "Hey, Okita-san, are you okay?" Her eyebrows furrowed with worry. She laid her hand on his shoulder gently. As she did so, his coughing stopped and he glanced up at her, his face a mask of pain. But suddenly, his features smoothed out and he grinned.

"Just kidding." He chuckled. "I got you there for a second didn't I?"

Yukiko drew up angrily and glared down at him. "You bastard! And I was seriously worried for you! Keep this up and I won't believe you next time, even if you are telling the truth!"

"You were worried about me?" Okita looked genuinely surprised.

"Of course I was! You sounded like you were dying for a moment there!"

"And here I thought you hated me." His face split into a grin.

Yukiko scowled. "I _do_ hate you. How dare you make fun of my kindness."

Okita slipped an arm around her shoulder. "Oh come on, don't be like that! It was a joke! And I apologized for it already didn't I?"

She tried to push him away. "What are you talking about?! You never apologized!"

He tsked at her. "Details, details."

"That's not a detail! You just blatantly lied again!"

"You're just like Hajime-kun. You both seem like you have stick up your ass or something. Lighten up a bit! Be more relaxed, god!"

"I think the problem is you're _too_ relaxed." She grumbled. "And I don't think that's a very nice thing to say about your friend."

"Okita-kun?" A soft-spoken voice from outside the door called out.

Okita let his arm drop from Yukiko's shoulder. "Sannan-san, is that you?"

"Yes, Hijikata-kun sent me to speak with the girl."

"Come in."

The door opened and a bespectacled man stepped in. He smiled down kindly at Yukiko. "It's a pleasure to meet you..." His eyes searched her inquisitively.

"Watanabe Yukiko." She completed.

"Watanabe-kun. You can just call me Sannan-san like everyone else." He kneeled down in front of her.

"Yes, thank you." Se dipped her head in a bow.

Sannan-san glanced over at Okita. "Okita-kun, please leave us."

"But-" he protested.

"Please, Okita-san." Yukiko pleaded at him.

He raised an eyebrow in acquiescence. Rising to his feet he stomped to the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Sannan-san turned his attention back to Yukiko. "I'm sorry. I'm not a certified doctor, but I will do my best to help you. Don't worry. I shall keep everything discussed today between you and me if you so wish."

"Yes please, thank you." She agreed.

"Alright then." He pushed the spectacles up his long nose. "Let's get started. I will ask you a series of questions, and it would be in your best interest to respond as truthfully as possible."

Yukiko nodded.

"Now then, I have heard from the vice-commander that you have been turning into this - forgive my lack of eloquence - monster, that kills people?"

She nodded sheepishly.

"And how long has this been going on?"

"Um, pretty recently, I'd say a few months."

"And do you still retain your conscious when you are this...monster?"

She shook her head. "No. When I wake up I have no idea that I had just killed someone."

"I see." His eyes narrowed. "Was there anything unusual about your childhood?"

Yukiko frowned, stroking her chin. "Well, I don't know if this would be considered unusual, but there _is_ a portion of my childhood missing from my memories. Everything from before the age of seven is just...gone...I can't remember anything before then."

His eyes glinted in excitement. "Really? Nothing at all?"

She shook her head.

Sannan-san cleared his throat. "I have read in books that memory loss can be due to several factors, including an accident, a blow to the head, or a traumatic experience. What do you think?"

"I-I'm not sure..."

"Can you do me a favor?" He asked. "I know this might be a bit difficult, but I'd like you to try to remember the time you turn into the monster. Can you do it?"

"I-"

"Please just try."

She screwed up her face in concentration. There was silence for a moment as Yukiko tried to probe into the very depths of her memories. Then she let out an exhausted sigh. "I'm sorry. It feels like I'm hitting a solid wall. I just can't go past it."

"There's nothing?" Sannan-san asked rather disappointedly.

She shook her head. "Although, there is one thing."

"What is it?" He perked up.

"There's an image of a small child."

"Can you make out the figure? Gender? Features?"

"No, sorry. It's really blurry. I can only see the vague outline."

His face dropped and he stood up. "I see. Well, if you have any questions about anything, or remember something, come talk to me. I'll come visit you again as well."

"Yes." She nodded. "Thank you for your help." Her black eyes followed him as he walked to the door, and as he opened it, she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Sannan-san."

"What is it?" He looked back at her.

"Um, actually, there's one thing that's been troubling me."

"Which is?"

"Have you ever gotten that feeling where it feels like you've known someone for ages, even you've just met them for the first time?"

His eyes narrowed questioningly. "No, never. Why do you ask?"

She glanced down at her fingers curled in her lap. "It's just that, the first time I met Okita-san felt like it wasn't the first time I've seen him before." She looked up and laughed. "But that can't be, right? It isn't possible for me to have met him before, right?"

Sannan-san readjusted his glasses. "Well, I can't say it's impossible. If you remember anything else, come find me."

Yukiko nodded, giving him a polite smile, and he left, the door still open. Okita entered moments later, bearing a tray of food. He placed it on the ground in front of her. "I brought your dinner. Everyone else, except for Sannan-san and you have already eaten."

"Thanks." She picked up the chopsticks and poked at the fish. Her eyes flickered to Okita's face.

He smirked, catching the movement. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No." She glanced away, blushing.

"Then you just like staring at my face?"

"No! It's not like that! Do I have to have a reason to look at your face?"

"Yes." His eyes glittered.

"You bastard." She angrily piled a large amount of rice into her mouth and immediately choked on it. She coughed, pounding her chest with a fist, trying to dislodge the rice from her windpipe. Okita laughed and slapped her back. Finally, she managed to cough out the hindrance. She glared at him. "You were taking advantage of the situation to hit me, weren't you?"

"No such thing!" He snickered. "Hurry up and eat. Careful not to choke again!"

"I hate you." Yukiko grumbled.

"No you don't."

Okita waited calmly, albeit a bit impatiently until she had completely finished with her food before whisking it away. Yukiko stayed in the room until night had fallen, and when it was time to go to bed, Okita pulled out two futons. He somewhat graciously accepted her help in setting them up, one on opposite sides of the room, and then he pulled out a long coil of rope from his desk. "Come on." He beckoned. "Put you wrists together in front of you."

Yukiko obeyed, and he bound them together tightly before tying a secure knot. Next he strapped her arms to her torso, and then bound her ankles. All the while, there was a faint smile on his lips. "You're getting a kick out of this, aren't you?" Yukiko asked snidely.

"Of course not!"

"Don't lie. I can see right through you."

He laughed. "Fine, I am, a little. I'm following orders though!"

"No need to make excuses." She scowled.

"You should be a little happier."

"Is there anything happy about the situation I'm in?" She glanced down wryly at her wrists and ankles.

"There is one thing."

"What?"

He stared at her, his eyes teasing, but deep underneath, there was another emotion. "This." He leaned forward and planted his lips firmly on hers.

She gasped and tried to kick him, but only resulting in tripping herself and falling clumsily to the floor.

Okita chuckled as he watched her struggling to get up, and failing. "You can't escape from anything, and you can't fight back. This is going to be pretty interesting."

"If I had known you would have done this, I would have gone to Sano-san's room instead!" Fuming, she rolled over to her futon and wriggled around until she was situated somewhat comfortably. "Hey," she called over her shoulder, "cover me with the blanket. I can't do it myself, and I don't want to get sick again."

"Fine, fine." Okita walked over and dumped the sheet over her. "Good night."

Yukiko muttered an incoherent response angrily, and heard him walk away. Okita blew out the candle lighting the room before slipping into his own futon. "Don't come near me." She hissed.

"Better keep an eye open then." She could hear the laughter in his voice.

She growled, but otherwise didn't respond.

* * *

Okita's green eyes flew open to a faint noise in his room. He kept his breathing heavy, but his fingers slowly inched towards the katana lying next to him on his futon. There was a rustling, and then a _thump_. He grabbed his sword and bolted out of bed, flying towards the girl sharing the room with him. Towering over her, he watched with cold eyes as she tried to stand from her kneeling position. His emerald eyes bore into hers, black and devoid of emotions. She hissed, struggling with her bonds. As Okita unsheathed his katana, she lunged forward, but only succeeding in falling flat on her face, she flipped over, writhing on the tatami floor to loosen the rope wrapped around her.

"Yukiko!" Okita whispered loudly. She stopped, looking up at him in a mixture of surprise and confusion. Flipping his katana so that it was pointed down, he raise it up and the brought it down swiftly so that it pierced the tatami, centimeters from the side of her head. "Yukiko." He whispered again, softer this time. "It's me."

There was a spark of recognition in her eyes as she gazed up at him. Then they widened and she mouthed his name. "Okita Souji."


	10. Chapter 10

**Finally! It's been so long since I've updated this! All-State was amazing! I would do it again if I could. I had so much fun! And my stand partner was soooo cute! I literally crushed on him the entire time. Seriously, if I were going to sit next to someone for 16 hours a day, I'd want him to be cute. Anyway, I cracked a rib pretty recently, so I'm spending a bit of down-time recuperating.**

AniMe-AnGel048221:** Thank you! =P**

Hikiri:** Thanks! I'm always afraid that my characters are really OOC.**

Ainhoa11:** haha, I feel sorry for Takumi too, but for a different reason.**

gozita444:** don't worry, you'll find out in this chapter!**

**so I realized that the events in Hakuouki happen over a span of several years, which is too far apart for my story. Therefore, just for the sake of my fanfic, I need to compress the events into about 1 year. They're not all that important. The wars only serve as a backdrop. I hop you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"Okita Souji." She mouthed.

"Yukiko, Yukiko!" He whispered harshly.

Her lips curled into a feral smile and her eyes glinted wildly. Her black irises took in the man's sandy-brown hair and forest-green eyes. "You haven't changed a bit."

Okita frowned, the skin between his brow creasing. "What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?"

She mimicked his action, struggling slightly against the rope still restraining her. "You don't remember me? The little girl who you would give food to through that window so many years ago? I always wondered what happened to you. You just disappeared one day. I waited and waited but you never returned. I eventually had to leave that house though." She laughed.

Shaking, Okita rose to his feet. He staggered back a few steps until his back was pressed against the wall; then he sunk down to the floor. "No. That's not possible."

"What? You didn't think I'd still be alive?"

"How come you've never mentioned this before? How come you suddenly remember you're past? I thought you said that any memories you had before the age of seven was completely gone!"

She wriggled her body into a slightly uncomfortable sitting position and tutted, as if scolding a child who had misbehaved. "You're right. I don't. At least, my other self doesn't. When I 'wake up,' I won't even remember that this conversation took place."

"What do you mean?" He asked shakily.

Yukiko chuckled. "Have you ever heard of a split personality disorder?"

"A what?"

"Split personality disorder. She created me in order to cope with her childhood trauma. Because she rejects her past and denies my existence, she doesn't remember either."

"How can she remember?"

"If she accepts herself completely, her memories will come back. I've answered your questions, now can you please untie me?" Yukiko looked down pointedly at the rope inning her wrists together.

"No. Not until you answer this last question."

She sighed. "What is it?"

"Why do you kill those people?"

Her black eyes lifted and bore into his, as if she were trying to pierce his soul. "Why do _you_ kill people?"

Okita's green eyes narrowed. "The Shinsengumi exists to protect the citizens of Kyoto."

"Are you saying that you kill people to protect others?"

"Yes." His voice turned to steel.

"Then can you really say that what I do is any different from what you do?"

"What are you talking about? Aren't you just killing innocent people?"

She shook her head in exasperation. "Those men I killed deserved to die. They were abusing their wives and family. Can you really say that isn't a crime?"

Okita's lips parted in surprise. "Do you have proof?"

"I stake them out. Do you really think I could kill people randomly without a motive?"

His shoulders relaxed slightly. "Fine. Let's say I believe you."

"I don't see why you wouldn't."

He ignored her. "Let's say I believe you. Why did you attack Takumi?"

She glanced down at the tatami, gritting her teeth. "I thought he was attacking me." He hands balled into fists. "It was dark outside and I couldn't see clearly. I still regret it. He's been nothing but kind to me." Her voice tightened. "Sometimes I lose myself to my anger though, like that one time, when I killed my father..." She trailed off, and the room was silent for a moment. Her eyes flickered to the shoji screen behind Okita's head before resting once again on his face. "The sun will come up soon. I don't have much time left. Do you believe me? Do you trust me?" Her eyes were pleading.

Okita shuffled towards her on his knees and cupped her face in his hands. "Are you really the girl I met in Edo? Are you really the girl I used to give food to?"

"Yes." She breathed. "I could never forget your green eyes."

"I have nothing to lose from believing you, so I'll go along with it for now. Besides, you know you can't resist me."

"Don't get too full of yourself." She scoffed.

With a smirk on his face, Okita bent down and kissed her. She sighed and closed her eyes, pressing herself closer to him. When they broke apart, she smiled sadly at him. "Please help her remember."

"I will." He promised.

Satisfied, her eyes closed, and her body went limp again. Lifting the weightless girl, Okita carried her back to her futon and tucked her in. He sat beside her, his eyes never leaving her face until the sun rose.

* * *

Yukiko groaned as the sunlight hitting her face woke her. Slowly sitting up, she glanced around the room. "Okita-san?" When no one responded, she groaned. "What am I supposed to do about breakfast if you're not here? I'm not supposed to leave this room!" She grumbled. Sliding out of the futon she noticed that the rope around her body was gone. _"He must have undone it sometime when I was still sleeping."_ Padding over to the window, she pushed it open and breathed in the fresh air. Sitting there, she heaved a long sigh and closed her eyes.

"Keep that up and an unbeknownst, young man will think you're lonely and in need of his company." The sudden voice made her jump and she shrieked when she saw Okita hovering over her with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not here to sell my body!" She huffed. "I was waiting for you. What am I supposed to do for breakfast?"

"Hmm..." Okita smirked and handed her a tray through the window. "Leave it outside when you're done."

Yukiko accepted the food with a glower directed at the man. But then she smiled. "This seems sort of nostalgic. I feel like this has happened before."

Okita's eyes narrowed. "I have to go on morning patrol. Don't try anything funny while I'm gone. We wouldn't want people to think you're a prostitute or anything would we?"

Yukiko shot to her feet, rattling the the tray she had set down next to feet. "I won't! Thank you for the food!" She shouted with indignation, slamming the window in his face. With a smirk, Okita loped away. Seething, Yukiko sat down and proceeded to shovel copious amounts of rice into her mouth. She drained the miso soup and slammed the bowl onto the tray. "What's _his_ problem?!" She grumbled angrily.

"Do you always talk to yourself like that?" The door slid open and Sano walked in.

"Did you hear me?" Yukiko asked aghast, her cheeks coloring.

"You were muttering pretty loudly." He chuckled.

A large, broad-shouldered man appeared in the hallway behind Sano. His spiky, brown hair bobbed up and down as he examined the girl up and down. He smiled. "So she's the one huh?"

She frowned at him. "Who are you?"

The auburn-haired man glanced back at his friend. "Hey, Shinpachi, don't scare her off or anything."

"Of course not!" He retorted, "I'm just interested in the new girl at our headquarters!" Shinpachi's grin widened as he glanced back at her.

"If you two are done here, please move. I need to speak with her." A familiar voice rang out. Sano and Shinpachi stepped to the side to let Sannan-san pass.

"I came to pick up her tray," Sano explained to Sannan-san. "That is, if you're done eating?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

Nodding, Yukiko handed him what he had requested. "Thanks."

Sano accepted it and nudged Shinpachi with his elbow. "Come on, let's go." He ordered. His friend followed him rather reluctantly.

When the two men were gone, Sannan-san slid the door shut behind him and sat down if front of Yukiko. He pushed his large, round spectacles up his nose and began his interrogation. "Anything new?" He asked,

Bashfully, she shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"That's fine. I'd actually be rather surprised if anything _had_ happened." He blinked slowly, carefully crafting his next words in his head. "I did a bit of reading last night. I am almost willing to bet my life that your, for the lack of a better word, monster is tied to your missing childhood."

"I think you might be right as well, but I'm nowhere closer to finding out about either of them than you are."

"Maybe if you were able to accept yourself, every facet and side of you."

She snorted. "Do you really think I could accept that monster killing people?"

"Maybe not, but they're both you."

"I'm sorry." She apologized without sounding sincere at all. "I don't think so."

Sannan-san sighed. "If nothing else works, our last resort will be relying on _that_ lady."

"'That lady?'" Yukiko asked.

"There's a rumor that there's a witch living in the mountains who will grant any wish. But it's only a rumor and I'd rather not rely on something so unpredictable." He stood up. "I'll go do some more research. I suggest you give what I told you a thought before completely dismissing it."

Yukiko nodded obediently. "Alright, I will."

* * *

A couple weeks passed slowly in the compound. Yukiko could feel the temperature outside slowly rising. Being cooped up in a room all day made her slightly restless. Okita had been unusually quiet recently. His snide remarks had lessened considerably. On occasions, she caught him staring at her sadly, but when she tried to confront him about it, he would brush her off. Finally one afternoon, Yukiko cornered him on his way out. She stood in front of the doorway, blocking his exit route. "Hey," she addressed him, "teach me how to use the sword."

Okita looked slightly shocked. "The sword?" He chuckled. "Sorry, you'd probably have a better chance of Hajime-kun to teach you. He's more patient than I am."

"Well then please at least let me go out into the garden. I'm going crazy from being holed up in a room all day with nothing to do!" She pressed on.

He stared at her for a moment. "Alright," he consented, "but only for a little bit."

Yukiko cheered in excitement and scrambled out the door. She bounded into the garden and smiled happily as she basked in the setting sunlight. Okita sat down on the porch in the shade, suppressing a cough behind his hands. He watched with amusement as the girl twirled around, like a child. She glanced back at Okita with an ear-splitting grin on her face. "You should come out here too! It feels great!" She laughed.

With a wry smile, he held up a hand as if to halt her. "You should hurry up and enjoy your time out here before it's over."

Unsatisfied with his response, she rushed over to him, ready to drag him out into the sun with her. But her foot snagged on a stray rock and she tripped. Yukiko grabbed the edge of the porch to steady herself, and as she straightened, she saw the sad look in Okita's green eyes again. Before she could comment on it though, Okita had grabbed her arms and pulled her down so that she was pinned against his hard chest. She blushed and averted her gaze while she tried to push away, but her strength was no match for his. He trapped her chin between his index finger and thumb and pulled her in for a kiss. As his lips pressed softly against hers, Yukiko resisted, but not as adamantly as she would have before. Her struggling a ceased completely as the kiss deepened. She moaned softly as his his tongue explored her mouth. This was the first time she had been kissed in such a way, so passionately.

They broke apart, Yukiko panting slightly and her face flushed. Okita's green eyes were burning as he stared at her. "I love you." He whispered. Yukiko blinked, wondering if she had heard correctly. "I've loved you since the first time we met."

"The first time we met you tried to kill me." She rebutted.

He chuckled. "No, we've met before, long ago."

"What?" Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"No, nothing." He pushed her away and stood up. "You should work on your kissing skills." His visage morphed back into the cynical features she was used to.

Yukiko's face turned bright red. "Y-You!" She spluttered. She lunged towards him, but he grabbed her arms before she could hit him.

Snickering, he pinned her arms down by her side. "There's someone I want you to meet."

"Someone? Who?" She relaxed, her embarrassment replaced by curiosity.

"Someone. Come on, we're leaving."

"Is it alright for me to just leave the compound? I'm not even supposed to leave my room."

"It's fine as long as I keep an eye on you. So don't run around. If anything happens to you, I won't save you!" He cautioned teasingly.

"Yes, yes." She huffed, following him as he led her out of the large, enclosed manor serving as the Shinsengumi's headquarters. She stuck close to him as they turned onto the main street. Her wide eyes took in the sights she had missed seeing over the past few weeks in confinement.

Okita glanced back at her with a raised eyebrow. "It's like we locked you up or something."

"You did!"

He laughed. "No need to get so touchy! We're here anyway." He pointed at a small restaurant.

"Are we eating dinner here?" She asked.

He scoffed. "As if I have the money for that. I don't get paid for another week. But if you're willing to pickpocket some rich man's purse, I would object too much."

"Don't you work _for_ the law?"

"Yeah, I thought not." He shoved her lightly. "Go in. We're meeting the person in there."

Okita entered the shop after her and immediately waved at a young woman sitting alone at a table. She waved back, a polite smile on her face.

"You wanted me to meet you mistress?" Yukiko's heart tightened painfully. She examined the lady who Okita had waved at. Her long, silky black hair was pinned up with several expensive hairpins, her skin was pale, contrasting with her opaque eyes.

"She's not my mistress. I don't have a mistress." He responded curtly. He leaned down so that his mouth was almost pressed against her ear. "Why? Are you jealous?"

"No! Of course not!" She swatted him away. She stomped over the the tale and sat down in front of the lady.

"This is my friend, Watanabe Yukiko." Okita introduced after he had taken a seat next to Yukiko.

The lady inclined her head. "My name is Kinoshita Asami. It's a pleasure to meet you, Watanabe-kun."

"Kinoshita-san," Okita leaned forward. "My friend was interested about the death of your husband."

Kinoshita covered her mouth daintily with the sleeve of her golden kimono. "Yes, well, as you might know, he was killed by the monster roaming the streets at night."

Yukiko's head snapped up and her eyes widened in terror. Sitting in front of her was a relative of someone she had killed. Her heart skipped a beat.

"But truthfully, I don't think of my husband's murderer as a 'monster' at all." Her eyes closed. "I'm glad my husband's gone. As a matter of fact, _he_ was the monster. My husband never treated me as another human." A tear trickled down her cheek as she recalled her past. "He abused me constantly. He brought other women home and slept with them, knowing I was in the house and could hear everything! That kind of a man can't be human at all! I'm glad he's gone!"

Yukiko's mouth opened and closed uselessly. Finally she managed to produce some sound. "What about the other people that were killed?"

Kinoshita shook her head. "I'm not too sure, but I heard rumors that those men were abusing their families as well."

"You can't mean to say that you actually condone killing other people!" Yukiko exclaimed.

"No, that's not what I mean." Kinoshita said. "But I can't condone husbands who abuse their wives and families. I'm certainly glad this 'monster' is taking things into his own hands, because it doesn't seem like anyone else is!"

Yukiko slumped back into her seat, her head spinning. She cast a glance over at Okita and saw a tight-lipped smirk on his face. "You knew about this?!" She whispered harshly to him. He stared at her condescendingly with an arched brow. She glared back at him.

"You don't believe her?" He asked. "I can set up another meeting for you. As many as it takes to get you to believe."

She face flushed. "No, thanks."

Kinoshita watched the exchange and decided to intervene. "I know my words alone may be hard to believe, but please, I _am_ telling the truth." Her red lips parted. "Here, I can show you proof of my abuse." She pushed back the long sleeve of her golden kimono, revealing yellowing bruises that were beginning to fade. There was one in particular, though, that stood out to Yukiko. It was in the shape of a large hand, the fingers curled around Kinoshita's thin wrist. "I have more scars if you still don't trust me." She seemed almost desperate.

"Enough!" Yukiko looked away. "Enough, I believe you. Who wouldn't after seeing those bruises."

"The one who killed my husband is _not_ a monster. I've wished him dead for so long now! I feel like I can finally be free!"

"I've heard enough." Yukiko pushed away from the table and stood up. Okita followed her. She looked down at Kinoshita. "Thank you for telling me all of this."

Kinoshita shook her head and readjusted her kimono. "No, thank you for listening."

Yukiko headed back to the compound in silence with Okita. The sun had just set behind the horizon, and the dim shop lights that lit the street were soothing in a strange way. As they entered the compound, Okita turned to the girl, deciding that it was an appropriate time to be nice. "Go back to the room first. I'll bring you dinner in a bit."

"I don't want any dinner. I just need to sleep. I'm exhausted." She replied sullenly, veering off in the direction of Okita's room.

Yukiko tossed around in her futon. She could here the noises of the men eating in the dinning hall. _"Kinoshita-san said that I was doing good by killing those people." She sighed heavily. "Does this mean I'm not the monster I thought I was? Was I wrong about myself?"_ Worn out from the days exertions, Yukiko fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Yukiko awoke with tears streaming down her face, dampening her pillow. She stared up at the ceiling, letting the salty tears flow into her hairline. Then she pushed herself up and softly padded over to the sleeping man on the opposite side of the room. Slowly, she slid into his futon and pressed her chest against his back. She felt him stir and she wrapped her arms around him to prevent him from moving. She pressed her lips against the back of his warm neck and whispered to him. "I remember."


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter is really fast-paced. Like I said, I'm crunching the events in the anime together into about a time period of like, less than one year. I don't want to drag this fanfic out too long. This story has about another five chapters before the end, and _unless_ I get any story requests, I plan on going on an indefinite hiatus after I finish this. I _might_ post some one-shots, but don't count on any multi-chapter story. I may or may not pick up writing again after I get settled into college. **

gozita444:** Takumi does make his reappearance in this chapter ;D**

Ainhoa11:** I'm glad you found it interesting. I wasn't sure how to make Okita find out about Yukiko being the kid from his past, and this seemed like the easiest method.**

Hikiri:** I'm sorry for the long wait! Yeah, I didn't really want to spend like, three chapters just on Yukiko trying to get back her memories. =P I'm kind of lazy like that.**

**I hope you guys like this chapter, and please, please, please review!**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"I remember." She whispered.

Okita groaned. "Yuki-chan, it's the middle of the night. You couldn't have waited until morning to tell me?"

She pushed herself up. "I was just about to tell you something important and you here you go ruining the mood!" She huffed indignantly. She stared at him for a moment, waiting for a response, but none came. Reaching out a hand, she shook him. "Hey, were you serious when you said you loved me?"

"What?" He muttered.

"I couldn't tell if you were serious or not since you're always teasing me."

He sighed and opened his eyes. "I was serious." Yukiko blushed and a smirk formed on his lips. "Did you crawl into my bed just to ask that? Or were you expecting something else?" He tugged her down and crawled on top of her. "A kissing lesson perhaps?"

Her blush deepened and she tried to push him away. "No way!"

"You sure? I could give you one free of charge right now." He chuckled. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. "Part your lips." Okita murmured against Yukiko's mouth. She consented and his tongue gently stroked her lower lip before twining with hers. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his broad back. Far too soon, he pulled away, his breathing heavy.

"Okita-san." Yukiko whispered.

He rolled off her and settled down beside her, draping an arm over her possessively. "And that concludes today's lesson." He yawned. "Now go to sleep. I'm tired." He let out a hacking cough, and his body curled inward until it had subsided.

"You okay?" Yukiko asked with concern.

"Yeah, it's just a mild fever. I'll be fine soon enough."

"If you say so. Don't overexert yourself too much."

He snorted. "I don't think that's something you have to worry about. Now go to sleep."

* * *

Another week passed before Yukiko managed to pluck up the courage to tell Sannan-san everything. Much to Okita's chagrin, he was forced into being her messenger boy. But to her amusement, he obediently, yet irritatedly, brought the bespectacled man to the room.

"Next time if you want him, get him yourself." Okita grumbled.

"But I'm not allowed to leave this room." Yukiko blinked up at him innocently.

He growled, unable to come up with a proper response.

Sannan-san sighed at their childish banter and turned to Yukiko. "So, what did you call me here for?" He asked.

"Oh right," she tore her attention away from Okita. "So, do you remember what you told me a long time ago about accepting myself?" She blushed at the memory.

"Yes, I do. And...?" He prompted.

"Um, well..." She trailed off.

"You did, and it worked?" Sannan-san finished for her.

She nodded.

"And your problem is solved."

She nodded again.

"In that case, there's no need for you to stay here anymore, is there?" A deep voice cut into their one-sided conversation. Hijikata appeared in the doorway, his violet eyes staring her down.

"Um..." She squeaked, intimidated by his sudden appearance.

"We're busy, so we don't have time to babysit someone. The Choshu are getting rowdy. If you don't need our assistance anymore, then there's no need for you to be here."

Yukiko glanced at Okita, who looked as if he had swallowed something sour. "B-but..."

Hijikata stared down at her, noticing that her eyes had flashed to the sandy-haired man. He sighed. "Three days. I want you to leave after three days."

She bowed. "Yes, alright, thank you."

Sannan-san pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well, I guess _that's_ settled."

Okita scoffed. "Wasn't that a bit anticlimactic?"

"Isn't that a good thing?" The other man responded. "I'm not sure if we have the resources available to subdue anything even remotely large. Especially with all the whispers of a rebellion."

The green-eyed man sighed. "I guess...I'd just like a little more action..."

"Isn't your life already hectic enough?" Yukiko added.

He wagged a finger. "You don't understand a man's heart."

She grimaced. "I don't think I _want_ to."

* * *

Mid-afternoon on the second day, Yukiko rested her chin against the windowsill and draped an arm over the edge, so that it hung outside. She sighed. Okita was out on patrol, so she didn't have anyone to talk to. Just as she wished for someone to walk past, a violet-haired man rounded the corner. He stared down at her through his long fringe for a moment, before walking away.

"Hey, wait!" She called after him. He stopped and turned back around. She beckoned him over to her, and he complied. "You're the first one we met when Okita-san first brought me here. What was your name again?"

"Saito Hajime." He answered curtly.

"You're Okita-san's good friend, aren't you?"

His cerulean eyes narrowed. "If you're looking for someone to talk to, I'm afraid I am not very good company."

She waved away his remark. "It's okay. I just want to ask you something. I would ask Okita-san, but it's too embarrassing, and he probably wouldn't give me a clear answer anyway." He blinked and she took that as an approval to go on. "So, he _said_ that he loves me, but he doesn't act like he does. He's always teasing me, and I can never tell if he's serious or not."

His serious gaze never left her, but Yukiko could not tell what he was thinking from his stoic mask. "That wasn't a question." He stated.

"I know, but could you please give me some advice?" She pleaded.

He sighed lightly and his eyes slowly closed. "I've known Souji for a very long time, and I've seen him with many women. But from what I can tell, he won't act like that with anyone he's not close to and comfortable with. You can be rest assured that his feelings are true."

"I-is that so?" She mumbled. Yukiko noted that his dark hair contrasted quite nicely with his pale skin. She wondered how such a serious man could end up being best friends with someone so completely different from him.

Saito turned to leave. He glanced back at her over his shoulder. "You and Souji are very similar."

She frowned. "How so?"

"In the respect that you both come to me for love advice." He added. The corner of his lips turned up almost imperceptibly. "In the future, I suggest you go to Sano for questions of the such." And like a breath of wind, he was gone.

Yukiko relaxed. "I guess it's a good thing he has a friend like that." She murmured to herself.

* * *

Finally, the day came for Yukiko to leave the compound she had called home for about a month. Outside, she could see the new buds popping out, a sign that spring was not far away. At the large gateway, she turned and smiled to Okita. "Thanks for all your help. Please relate that to Sannan-san too."

"Yeah, I will." He smirked and raised an eyebrow at the expression on her face. "What? Don't tell me you miss me already?"

Yukiko blushed and whirled around on her heels. She was ready to stomp off, but Okita caught her wrist, and pulled her into his broad chest. He leaned down and pressed his lips against her warm neck. "Don't make that sort of expression." He ordered. "We'll see each other soon enough. I promise." He coughed violently.

She pulled away. "Are you alright?"

He raised a hand to hold her back. "I'm fine." He reassured her.

She looked unconvinced, but let it drop. "I'd better go before Hijikata-san throws a fit again. Take care of yourself and your health."

"Yeah, see you." Okita watched her back until she had disappeared.

Yukiko walked back to her old, worn-down house with eager anticipation to see her friends again. When she finally reached it, she smiled up fondly at the shack. No matter what other people said about it, it was still her home. She paused for a moment in front of the door, trying to soothe her beating heart. She cast away all her feelings of anxiety and threw the door open. Stepping over the threshold, she yelled loudly. "I'm home!"

There was a loud commotion in the back of the house, and several pairs of stomping feet could be heard. Five men squeezed into the small entrance way, and five pairs of eyes widened when they saw who it was. "Boss!" One man cried as he threw himself into her arms.

"Hey, hey, Kimura," she chuckled, "no need to get so excited."

"We missed you boss!" Ando added, wiping small tears from his eyes. "I'm glad to see you're okay."

She laughed heartily. "Of course I'm okay. The Shinsengumi treated me very kindly."

"Do you have to go back?" Kimura sniffed.

"No, I don't. I'm back for good." She looked around. "Where's Takumi?" She wondered aloud.

Ando sighed and looked down at the ground glumly. "Boss, he's been in a pretty bad state ever since you left."

"What do you mean?" He eyes narrowed, anger beginning to bubble in the pit of her stomach as she guessed where her best friend might be.

"He goes down to Shimabara almost every night, and he comes back in the morning completely drunk to the point where he can barely even remember his own name." Ando's eyebrows scrunched together. "And the nights he doesn't go down there, he gorges himself on the sake in the house."

"And where is he now?"

"He left right before you got back."

She sighed angrily and turned around.

"Where are you going boss?" Kimura asked.

"To bring that bastard back. He's going to kill himself at this rate."

"I'll go with you." Murata volunteered.

"No. I'll go by myself. I'll do whatever it takes to bring him back."

Yukiko flew down the streets to the red light district. She felt sweat beginning to moisten her hands as she entered the large building. She wiped them on her kimono and approached an elaborately dressed maiko. "Excuse me, did you see a young man come in here? He has shoulder-length, curly, black hair and amber eyes. About this tall." She indicated a position in space several centimeters above her own head.

The maiko shook her head apologetically. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't."

Yukiko bowed. "Thank you. I'm sorry for bothering you." She wandered deeper into the large building and repeated the same question to another maiko, but with more luck this time.

"I think I saw a man like that entering _that_ room." The lady pointed at the doors at the end of the hallway."

"Thanks." Yukiko shot over her shoulder as she ran to the room the maiko had indicated. She opened the door, and sure enough, the man she was looking for was sipping sake from a small saucer, and surrounded by three beautiful women. "Takumi." She whispered, staring at him.

He looked up, and she saw that his beautiful, amber eyes were slightly glazed over. "Yukiko!" He boomed. "They finally let you out of that hell-hole huh?" His speech was already slurred. "Did that green-eyed brat dump you? And now your running back to me?" He cackled. "It's a little too late for that now, honey!"

Yukiko bit down on her lower lip so hard she tasted blood. She pushed past the maikos surrounding the man. "Pardon me." She muttered. "Takumi, snap out of it!" She yelled, cocking a fist back and slamming it into his face.

Several frightened screams erupted from the maikos as Takumi flew backwards. He drunkenly pushed himself back up onto his feet and fingered the wound on his cheek in astonishment. "How dare you?!" He growled, and staggered towards her, reaching out his arms to grab at her. Yukiko dodged his hands and slammed her knee into his stomach. Takumi doubled over and fell onto the ground, wheezing.

"Takumi, stop this!" She whispered. "You're killing yourself!" She looked down at his silent form. "I don't want to see you like this!"

"Yukiko." He rasped. "I'm sorry." A tear trickled from his closed eyes.

She dropped onto the floor next to him. "What for?"

"For not being strong enough to protect you. I let that bastard from the Shinsengumi arrest you. I'm weak. I can't do anything."

"That's not true. You're my right-hand man, Takumi. You're supposed to take care of the others when I'm gone. I trust you to do that! Takumi," she shook his shoulders, "don't you know how much trust and faith I place in you? You're the only one I could ever rely on like that!"

"But what about that bastard? I couldn't stop him from taking you away!"

"The Shinsengumi aren't bad people like you think they are. They helped me. I remember my past. I remember everything. I won't turn into that monster anymore. Besides, they let me go, didn't they? I'm not dead." Takumi's eyes opened. They were clear and full of sadness. Yukiko reached down and hugged him. "I'm sorry for leaving you like that, but I'm back for good now."

"Are you really?"

"Yes."

"Do you still have the stuff I gave you?" He mumbled against her shoulder.

"What stuff?"

"The pouch with the ring, and the sword."

"Yeah. They're in my room. Why?"

"Good. Keep them. I don't want to be forgotten."

Yukiko sighed and pulled out of the hug. "I'll never forget you. Don't worry. Now come on, let's go back home. The others are worried about you." She reached out a hand for him to take. He grasped it, and she pulled him up. Never letting go, she lead him back to their home.

* * *

A month passed in relative peacefulness. The temperature outside grew warmer, and the flowers began to bloom. One day, as Yukiko was doing some shopping out on the main street, she heard several women talking off to the side of the market their faces looked positively grim. Yukiko drew closer to the group, trying to pick up snippets of the conversation.

"Did you hear? Last night..."

"At Ikedaya?"

"Yeah."

"The Shinsengumi are heroes."

"But it's terrible what happened..."

Yukiko felt her breath catch. She walked up to the ladies. "Um, excuse me, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard what you were talking about. Could you please tell me more?"

The women looked at her warily, but they consented. "Last night, the Shinsengumi stopped the Choshu from rebelling. Apparently they were going to light Kyoto on fire. Thank goodness they were stopped though."

"And? What about the Shinsengumi?" Yukiko prompted.

"I heard there were several injured, but none died."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

The lady continued. "But the Choshu aren't just going to sit back and take this defeat lightly. I'm sure they will rebel again. It's only a matter of when."

One of her friends gasped. "Kyoto doesn't seem very safe anymore. Perhaps it's best if we left."

The lady shook her head. "My home is here. I don't want to leave."

Yukiko excused herself from the conversation and sprinted to the Shinsengumi's headquarters.

"What do you want!" The guards at the gate stopped her.

"Please, let me go in. I need to speak with Okita-san!" She pleaded.

"No one is allowed to go in unless they have the Captain's permission."

"Then bring him here! He knows me!"

"I'm sorry I can't do that. Our Captain is a busy man."

"Then at least tell me how Okita-san is doing!"

"I can't do that either."

"But-"

"What's all the commotion out here about?" A violet-haired man appeared.

"Saito-san!" Yukiko gasped.

"Is there something you require from the Shinsengumi? I believe your business here was concluded a long time ago."

"I heard about what happened at Ikedaya. Is Okita-san okay? Can I see him."

"Unfortunately Souji is unable to take any visitors in his current state. Even if it's you."

"Did something happen to him?" She felt fear building up inside her.

"He has several broken ribs, and he's been coughing up blood. I'm sorry, but I assure you he will be alright he just needs some time to recover."

"Can't I see him?"

Saito shook his head. "Now please leave."

"The Choshu will rebel again!" Yukiko blurted out.

Saito's eyes narrowed and he tensed. "Are you working with the Choshu?"

She shook her head. "It's just a rumor I heard."

"We have everything under control here. Leave."

"Fine." She looked up at the stolid man. "You promise Okita-san will be alright?"

He nodded once and disappeared back into the headquarters.

* * *

Another month passed in bated apprehension. That night was dark, and the wind outside was strong. It seemed almost ominous, like a tumultuous storm was approaching. Yukiko sat in the living room, drinking tea with Ando when she heard a shout from far away. "Fire!" She could faintly make it out. She glanced up worriedly at the large man in front of her.

"It's probably just some drunkard. Don't worry about it." Ando reassured her. Yukiko took a sip of tea nervously. Suddenly, Takumi burst into the room.

"Get out!" He roared. "The house just down the street is on fire! The wind's strong so it'll only be a matter of seconds before the fire spreads to us! Hurry and get out now!"

Yukiko dropped her cup of tea. "The Choshu!" She whispered in horror. "Wait, I need to-"

"No time!" Takumi caught her. "Get out of here now!"

"Come on boss!" Ando grabbed her hand and stampeded out of the house. Outside, Yukiko saw the orange glow crawling ever nearer their tiny shack. They waited for the five other men to burst out of the house before running away from the flames chasing them. Before they had managed to reach the end of the street, Yukiko tore away from Ando and ran back towards the house.

"Yukiko!" Takumi bellowed.

_"I'm sorry everyone, but I really can't leave those important things behind!"_

She ran back through the flaming entranceway. The fire was already beginning to consume the pitiful house. She coughed as the smoke entered her lungs, but she pressed forward, avoiding the flames licking at the walls until she reached her room. Opening the drawer in her desk, she stuffed the blue purse Takumi had given her with the ring inside into her kimono. She got up and grabbed her katana, which was leaning beside the door. Covering her nose with the sleeve of her kimono, Yukiko sprinted back down the hallway, but before she could make it back to the entrance, a burning, wooden plank fell in her path. She screamed and fell back onto the ground.

"Yukiko!" She heard Takumi's muffled shout.

"Takumi!" She yelled back. His hazy form appeared, mutated by the thick smoke.

"Stay there, I'm coming to get you!" He shouted. He leapt through the flames and landed in front of her. "You idiot! What do you think you're doing!"

"I had to get the stuff you gave me!"

Takumi growled and handed her the handkerchief he was using to cover his mouth and nose. "Use this. Stop breathing in all this smoke. Expect one hell of a lecture when we get out of here!"

"Thanks." She did as he told. Behind him, the flames were getting thicker.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up, but his eyes widened at something Yukiko couldn't see. Whirling both of them around, Takumi pushed her back onto the ground and shielded her body with his. A large plank fell on him with a _thud_ and he grunted at the impact.

"Takumi!" She shouted, in horror.

"Are you okay, Yukiko?" A trickle of blood ran down his forehead and dripped onto her cheek.

"I'm fine, but you're definitely not! Stop protecting me! You're going to die! Get out of here Takumi! Leave me!"

"Thank goodness you're okay." He whispered, ignoring her other words. His eyes slid close and he slumped on top of her, the heavy plank and the weight of his body pinning her to the ground.

"Takumi?" She shook him, but he didn't move. She tasted the bile rising into her throat. "Takumi!" She screamed. "Takumi!"


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm really sorry about not updating. I actually found a more fulfilling past time (stalking Kim Jaejoong on the Internet. He is literally _the_ most perfect man in the entire universe) but anyway, that took up a lot of my time. I was also working on scholarships for college, so I sort of ended up ignoring fanfiction completely. Sorry this isn't an "actual" chapter. Just a little fill in/ teaser. I'll try to get the next chapter, where we find out what happens with Takumi, up as soon as I can.**

Hikiri:** haha you know me so well. I'm glad I was able to make you laugh before the end!**

ChikagePlease:** I hope this story is better than Blue Moon. I'd feel really bad if my stories got progressively worse. And thank you!**

Ainhoa11:** haha, yeah, this story is slowly wrapping up! (actually not so slowly)**

gozita444:** ahhhhhhh! I'm sorry for the long delay! I'm sorry though, it looks like you'll have to wait just a little bit longer.**

**guys, please review! Reviews help me write! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_**Flashback: Ten years ago**_

The little girl wandered the streets aimlessly. Her dark hair was matted with dried blood, and she clutched the collar of her dirty, dark-brown kimono as if shielding herself from some unseen danger. Several people had passed her, but none stopped to question her. A few paused gave her wary looks, but then hurried along their ways.

"You're dirty."

She turned around and saw a young boy about her age playing with a ball. His striking amber eyes gave her a once-over.

"You stink." He commented, wrinkling his nose.

The girl glanced down at the ground. Her bare feet dug into the dirt in shame.

"What's your name?" The boy asked.

She paused for a moment, thinking. "Watanabe Yukiko."

"Yukiko?" He laughed. "I'm Koyama Takumi. You can just call me Takumi. How did you get this dirty?"

"I-I don't know..." She whispered.

He stared at her for a moment before holding out a hand. "Come on."

She took his hand hesitantly. "Where are you taking me?"

"My house. My mom can help you clean up." Tucking his ball securely under his arm, he dragged Yukiko back to his house.

Takumi's mother was a beautiful person. She had long, shimmering, raven-black hair, and naturally pale skin. Her eyes were the same amber color Takumi had inherited. While Yukiko was soaking in the small, wooden tub, she worked on untangling the girl's limp hair.

"You have such amazing hair!" She cooed. "It looks almost blue when the light hits it." She helped Yukiko scrub the mud and soot off her skin before wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing over her pink kimono. "Stay here." She ordered. "I'll go and bring you some of Takumi's old clothes." She flew out of the room only to return moments later clutching a bundle of cloth. She set them next to the tub. "Try these on. They should fit you."

Yukiko stood up, careful not to slosh water onto the clothes. She wiped the water droplets off her body before slipping on the clothes Takumi's mother had retrieved for her. "Thank you for your hospitality. I should get going now, I don't wan to intrude on you guys anymore."

"Go where?" His mother asked.

"I'll figure something out."

"I can't let you do that. If you don't have anywhere to go, stay with us. We'll take care if you. I promise."

"But..." She began to protest.

"Just think of yourself as part of our family."

"If my mom says it's okay, then it's fine." Takumi pushed open the door and stomped into the room.

"Takumi, mind your manners!" His mother chided.

"Who cares? Let's go play." He grabbed Yukiko's hand and dragged her out of the room.

"I just cleaned her so don't get her dirty again!" His mom yelled after them.

* * *

Five years passed with Yukiko living happily with Takumi's family. One day, Takumi's father called his son, his daughter, and Yukiko into his room. He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes, mentally reviewing his words in his head. "Pack your things. In two days, we're moving to Kyoto."

"Why?" Takumi's sister frowned.

"Our business isn't doing too well." He explained. "I was hoping to have a fresh start in Kyoto, and hopefully our relatives there will be able to help us out."

"But dad!" She pressed on, "we've lived in Edo for our entire life, you can't do this to us!"

"Kairi!" He glared at her, his eyes warning her to keep quiet, but she ignored it.

"What about my friends?! I can't just leave them like this!"

"That's enough!" He shot to his feet. "You'll do as I say. You have two days to say goodbye to them. We are going to Kyoto and that's that!" With an angry wave of his hand, he dismissed them.

A few days later, the family had settled into their new home in Kyoto, at the edge of the city. It was small but comfortable. One night, after Yukiko had slipped out of bed and was quietly tiptoeing to the well behind the house for a drink of water, she heard whispering voices coming from behind closed doors. She shuffled closer and pressed her ear against the crack between the doorframe and the shoji door.

"Our relatives refuse to help us! What should we do? At this rate..."

There was a sigh. "Our business isn't holding up too well either. We'll need more money, but everyone's scared of being caught."

"We're backed into a corner now! If only we had just a little more money...isn't there another way?"

"If there was, don't you think I would have done it? It's not as simple as you think."

"Just a little more money and our business would be flowing!"

"Money..." Yukiko thought to herself. Gritting her teeth, she flung the door open without a greeting. Takumi's parents looked up in shock. "Sell me." She said.

"W-what?" His mother held a hand up to cover her mouth.

"Sell me to the red-light district. They will give you money for me." Yukiko

"Don't speak nonsense. We can't do that! You're our daughter!" Takumi's father cried indignantly.

"I was a homeless child that you took in."

"It doesn't matter. We won't sell you." He insisted.

"It's okay. You don't have to feel guilty. This is something I decided myself, so I won't regret it. You have already given me enough happiness to last a lifetime, and this is the only way I can repay you."

"By selling yourself?" Takumi's mother sounded as if she were on the verge of tears.

Yukiko dropped to her knees and bent forward at the waist until her forehead was centimeters away from the ground, and her fingertips were in front of her, barely touching. "Please."

There was a long silence, and then a sigh. "Alright." Takumi's father relented. "If this is something you truly want, I won't stop you."

"Thank you." Yukiko whispered.

"Tomorrow night, I'll take you to Shimabara."

"Yes, and please," Yukiko looked up. "Don't tell Takumi and Kairi until after I'm gone."

He nodded. "I understand."

"Hayato!" Takumi's mother gasped.

"Tsubaki," her husband glanced at her. "Let her do what she wants."

Yukiko stood up. "Thank you."

Tsubaki walked over to her and cupped her face in her aging hands. "No, thank you for doing this for us."

The next night, as Kairi and Takumi were sleeping, Hayato took Yukiko to an okiya. He stood outside the houses clutching the twelve-year-old's small hand in his large, warm one. "Excuse me!" He shouted.

The door slid open and a young girl peered out at them. "Yes?"

"Is the Madam in?" Hayato asked her.

"Yes, I'll fetch her right away." She disappeared back into the darkness, returning a few minutes later with an old lady behind her.

"What can I do for you?" The old lady croaked.

Yukiko looked up at her. She had sallow, yellowing skin and limp hair pulled back into a bun, garnished with several hairpins. Her beady eyes looked Yukiko up and down and her thin lips tightened into a straight line. Yukiko noticed as she reached up to push back a loose strand of hair that her hands held a slight tremor.

"I'd like to sell this girl." Hayato pulled Yukiko in front of him.

"And your price?" The Madam's eyes narrowed.

"Twenty-two shus.*"

"She's a little skinny. Eighteen shus.**" She countered.

Hayato hesitated. "Alright."

The Madam nodded once and retreated back to her room to count out the coins. As she was doing so, Hayato reached down and hugged Yukiko. "Be good okay? I'm sorry."

"Yeah." She murmured against his shoulder.

"Don't let anything or anyone get you down okay?"

"Yeah."

"Yukiko, I'm sorry." He choked.

"It's okay. I'll be fine."

They heard footsteps returning and Hayato released the girl.

"The payment." The old lady held out the coins wrapped in a scrap of cloth. Hayato opened it and double-checked the amount before slipping it into the sleeve of his kimono. "Then, I'll be taking her."

"Dad!" Yukiko cried, stretching out a hand as the lady dragged her into the okiya.

"Yukiko!" His fingertips brushed with hers for a moment before her arm dropped and the door slammed shut between them. Hayato blinked back his tears. Throwing one last look at the door of the okiya, he turned and walked away.

Yukiko followed the Madam down the dark hallway. "From now on, you'll be working here to repay your debt. You'll start out as a servant like Nagisa, who you'll be sharing a room with. From now on, you will address me as Okaa-san. During this time, you'll be assisting the geikos in whatever they need. You'll also be going to school to learn dancing and our dialect. Tomorrow, follow Nagisa around. She'll train you. And remember," the old lady turned around and glared at Yukiko. "If you're caught trying to run away, your life is forfeit."

Yukiko nodded to show that she understood.

"Good." Okaa-san whirled around and continued down the hall. She stopped when she reached a door. "This is your room that you will be sharing with Nagisa. Don't forget what I just told you."

Yukiko nodded again, and Okaa-san swept away with an exasperated huff. The young girl opened the door and entered the tiny room. Padding over to the closet, she pulled out a folded futon and spread it out on the floor. She looked around for her roommate, but she was nowhere to be found. Too tired to wait for Nagisa, Yukiko slipped into her futon and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Three, long years passed at the okiya with Yukiko following Okaa-san's every beck and call. One dreary, winter morning started off badly - a sure sign that it was only going to get worse. Yukiko had tripped over a loose floorboard and a ceramic cup flew out of her hands and landed on the ground, thankfully not breaking. A geiko who happened to be passing by snickered and glided past her. "I don't know how a klutz like you can even become a maiko." She whispered in a low voice. Ignoring her, Yukiko picked up the fallen cup and headed towards the kitchen.

The rest of the day was normal. She had lessons until the afternoon when she would rush home to assist the geikos with their outfits. Yukiko knelt by a skinny girl with oily, black hair and brushed the white powder onto her skin.

"Smoother!" The girl cried. "I don't want it to lump! Geez, can't you do anything right?!"

Yukiko bit back her retort and settled with glaring at the back of her neck. _"I must endure!"_ She thought to herself. _"Just a few more hours and I'll be free!"_

Standing up, the geiko slipped on an elaborate, red and green, silk kimono that had been prepared for her. Yukiko stood, the dark-green obi folded in her hands. The geiko sniffed at Yukiko. "Wrap it." The young girl circled the long piece of cloth around the skinny girl's waist several times. "Tighter you idiot!" Yukiko suppressed a sigh and obliged, tying the obi securely in the back.

"I'm done." Yukiko backed away, her head down.

Without a word of thanks, the geiko stalked out the door. The geikos at the okiya rarely returned before midnight, so using this time, Yukiko retreated back to her room to prepare everything for later that night.

* * *

Yukiko could hear the whispers of the wind against the small window, and beside her, Nagisa was softly snoring away. It was well past the time for any sane person to be awake. As quietly as she could, Yukiko slipped out of bed and changed into the hakama she had worn the first time she had been taken to the okiya. The ends of the clothing were several centimeters too short, but they would have to do. She tucked a small pouch of coins she had saved up from running errands into the collar of her kimono, then she tiptoed outside barefoot.

The girl scaled an old, withered tree near the tall fence enclosing the okiya. She clumsily climbed to the edge of a thin, precarious branch before transferring herself over to the top of the fence. Her toe snagged at a loose tile, and it fell to the ground with a _clack_. She held her breath, waiting for someone to come, but when no one did, she continued sliding down the edge of the fence. Sitting on the ledge, her legs dangled down. She pushed herself off and landed on her feet on the ground below. A jolt of pain bolted up her legs and her spine. Her vision went white and hazy and there was a throbbing sensation in her ears. She sucked in a breath, waiting for it to pass, and when it finally did several moments later, she hobbled down the road, away from the okiya, grinning happily to herself.

_"I'm free!"_

* * *

**A lot of this chapter was based off _Memoirs of a Geisha_ by Arthur Golden. I'm not well-versed in how geishas (geikos) differed in Shimabara in comparison to Gion, but we'll go with this for now I guess. I'm not exactly sure how much kids were sold for (to become geishas/ geikos), so just bear with me a bit. If anyone has any info, please tell me!**

***$200**

****$167**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm continuing with the actual story line now guys!**

gozita444:** yes, it was an amazing book! I suggest you give it a try =D**

Hikiri:** thanks! Well, I was trying to find a good place to add that in. There's another little flashback in this chapter.**

Ainhoa11:** Jeje, si mi profesora de español vio lo que me dijiste en el PM, sería muy feliz. Pero desafortunadamente, ya no estoy aprendiendo español nada más. También, como le he dicho a Hikiri, hay una escena retrospectiva en este capítulo con Takumi y Yukiko. Me siento aliviada de que mi español no es tan malo. =D**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review!**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Takumi pushed her onto the ground and shielded her body with his. A large plank fell on him with a thud and he grunted at the impact.

"Takumi!" She shouted, in horror.

"Are you okay, Yukiko?" A trickle of blood ran down his forehead and dripped onto her cheek.

"I'm fine, but you're definitely not! Stop protecting me! You're going to die! Get out of here Takumi! Leave me!"

"Thank goodness you're okay." He whispered, ignoring her other words. His eyes slid close and he slumped on top of her, the heavy plank and the weight of his body pinning her to the ground.

"Takumi?" She shook him, but he didn't move. She tasted the bile rising into her throat. "Takumi!" She screamed. "Takumi!" She shook him again and writhed under his body, trying to get free. "Takumi! Come on, open your eyes! You can't die, not like this! Don't leave me like this!"

She heard voices shouting in the distance. "Takumi! Boss!"

"Here! Over here!" She shouted back. "Over here, help us!" She hacked and coughed as she inhaled a lungful of smoke. The hand that held Takumi's handkerchief was pinned between her stomach and his chest. Her eyes watered and her voice cracked when she cried out again. "Help us!"

There was a _thud_ and a voice swore. Then Murata and Ando appeared through the haze. "Boss, you okay?" Ando asked.

"_I_ am, but I don't think Takumi is." She croaked.

"Alright, help me." Ando nodded at Murata. Together, the two of them lifted the charred plank off of Takumi and dropped it beside them. They each grabbed an arm and heaved the unconscious man up, supporting him with their shoulders.

"Can you stand?" Murata grunted.

Yukiko nodded and pushed herself to her feet. She pressed the handkerchief to her mouth and nose once more.

"Follow us." Ando ordered.

Beads of sweat rolled down her face as she picked her way through the blazing house. The hazy smoke made it almost impossible to see more than a couple yards in front of them.

"Hey," Murata coughed, "it looks like the front door is blocked."

"What about the window in the sitting room? We could climb out." Ando responded.

Yukiko followed the path they created to the room.

"It looks fine." She eyed the window.

Ando shifted Takumi's weight around a bit. "Boss, you'll have to climb out first. We'll try to transfer Takumi over to you the best we can, and then climb out afterwards."

Yukiko nodded and slid the window open. Outside, she saw the rest of the gang waiting for them. "Boss!" They shouted, rushing over to the window. She swung a leg over the sill and pushed herself out the window. Landing on the ground, she stumbled a bit, but Kimura caught her.

"Thanks." She breathed out.

"Okay, it's Takumi's turn next." Ando and Murata hoisted the body and slowly lowered him out the window, and into the arms of the three men waiting below it. Then Ando waited for Murata to jump out the window before following suit.

"Is Takumi okay?" Yukiko looked up from Takumi's face to see a man hovering over them.

"Shouta," she addressed him. "He's unconscious. A heavy plank fell on him."

"Let's get out of here first before we talk." Ando helped Shouta lift Takumi onto their shoulders. "Come on, let's get down to the river."

They made their way through the glowing streets where they passed children crying for their parents and women screaming for their loved ones. As soon as they collapsed on the banks of the river, Yukiko crawled over to Takumi and used his handkerchief to wipe the blood off his forehead.

"We'll need a doctor to examine him." Ando crouched down next to her. "But we probably won't be able to find one until tomorrow after the fire gets put out. Even then the doctors will be swamped. We might not have enough money for one."

"I'll think of a way to get him examined." Yukiko scowled.

"Well stay here for tonight. It's safer here, next to the water, than anywhere else."

She sighed.

Ando patted her on the back. "He'll be fine. He's tenacious." She didn't respond, and the silence dragged on for a long moment. "Do you remember the first time we met? When Takumi brought you to us?" He asked.

She looked at him and nodded. "How could I ever forget?"

* * *

_She ran down the street away from the okiya. Like a ghost, she slipped into a dark alley. As her feet steadily slapped the ground, she threw a backwards glance over her shoulder to make sure no one had noticed her absence, but her lack of attention caused her to crash into an object in front of her. She let out a muffled cry._

_"Hey, watch it kid." The bony arm shot out and gripped her shoulder. "If you run into someone, don't you think you should pay up as compensation?"_

_Yukiko's eyes widened and her hand shot up to her chest where her pouch of coins was hidden. "I-I'm sorry, I don't have any money on me." She lied._

_His grasp on her shoulder tightened, and she flinched._

_"What's going on here?" A soft low voice drifted over like the wind._

_"Boss." The man in front of Yukiko saluted. "This kid bumped into us and I was going to teach him a quick lesson."_

_"'Kid?'" He breathed._

_The skinny man whirled Yukiko around. The boss stepped closer, and then his eyes widened. "Yukiko?"_

_She shrunk back. "Who are you?"_

_"You don't recognize me?" He took another step closer and the dim moonlight spilled over his face, illuminating his features._

_"Takumi!" She whispered. "You're Takumi, right?"_

_"You two know each other?" The other man asked._

_"Murata, leave us." Takumi ordered. Murata nodded and slipped away._

_"Why are you here?" Yukiko asked him. "What about your parents?"_

_He snorted. "My parents? Truthfully, I could never forgive them for selling you to an okiya, so I had a bit of a falling out with them right after you left. I wouldn't speak to them for a long time after you were gone. But when I finally decided to reconcile with them, they were killed by the Shinsengumi."_

_"The Shinsengumi?"_

_"They're very new, so I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard of them, they're sort of a police force here in Kyoto. But anyway, why are you here, dressed like that?" He indicated the too-small clothes she was wearing._

_She looked down and let out a nervous laugh. "I escaped from the okiya. You won't turn me in will you?"_

_"You crazy? Why would I? So, where do you plan on going now?"_

_"I didn't really have any plans..."_

_"Then why don't you stay with us?" Takumi held out a hand. "We'll keep you safe. I promise." He smiled at her encouragingly._

_She hesitated for a moment before reaching out and taking his hand._

* * *

Yukiko watched as the pink sun slowly rose over the horizon. She felt someone shake her shoulder and she turned around. "If you want to find a doctor, go now before they have too many customers." Ando whispered in her ear.

Yukiko nodded and stood up.

He handed her a small pouch of coins. "Take this. You'll need it."

She accepted it and sprinted away. She slowed down when she reached the center of the city. Slowly turning in a circle, she saw people searching through the debris for whatever they could salvage. She went over to one family. "Excuse me," she addressed them politely." They turned and gave her a wary look. "Could you please tell me where the nearest doctor is?" She asked.

The father pointed at a middle-aged man several yards away near the billboard for missing people. "That man over there is a doctor, but I don't know if he will treat you." He offered.

"Thank you." She bowed and approached the man with graying hair and deep wrinkles etched into his face. "Um, excuse me..."

His gaze panned over her before he went back to reading the board.

"Excuse me," Yukiko repeated. "I heard you were a doctor. Would you please examine my friend? He's been hurt pretty badly."

He waved her off. "I'm a bit busy right now."

"Here, I have money." She held up the pouch of coins.

He took it and glanced inside before shoving back at her. "Under normal circumstances, this would be enough, but you're not the only one in need of a doctor. And as you can see, I'm also a bit lacking in tools. This won't be enough."

Biting her lip, Yukiko reached into her kimono and took out a small blue purse. Her trembling fingers fumbled with it, and she dropped it. Bending down, she picked it up and used her fingers to dust the dirt off. She picked out the silver ring inside. The large emerald glinted in the bleak sunlight. She held it up to him. "Will this and the money be enough?"

The doctor plucked it out of her hands with wide eyes. He was practically salivating as he stared at the gem.

"So?" She prompted.

"Yes." He slipped the ring into the pouch of coins and slipped the entire thing into the sleeve of his dirt-colored kimono. "Now then take me to the patient."

Grinding her teeth, Yukiko whirled around and led the doctor to the riverbank where Takumi was. When they reached him, she gestured to his unconscious body.

"What happened?" The doctor asked, gently probing Takumi's temple.

"A heavy wooden plank fell on him when he was trying to protect me." Yukiko explained briefly.

"Hmm..." He carefully lifted his head and turned it, examining it. Then his fingers continued their prodding. He looked up at Yukiko and beckoned her with a toss of his head. Yukiko knelt down beside him. "Hold his head for me like this." He nodded down at the position his hands were placed in. Yukiko did as he told, and the doctor extracted a roll of gauze from his kimono. He wrapped the cloth several times around Takumi's head before fastening it. "You can put him down now." He stood up.

After she had lowered Takumi back to the ground, she followed suit. "So, what's wrong with him."

The doctor rubbed a hand over his small stubble. "His skull is fractured, and he probably has a concussion. I've wrapped his head, so try not to move him too much. He needs to rest."

"But will he be okay? When will he wake up?"

"It's hard to say. He'll wake up when he wants to. But..." He trailed off.

"But what?" Yukiko's black eyes narrowed.

"Since he injured his head, there's a possibility of memory loss."

"Memory loss?"

"I don't know how severe it will be. I won't know until he wakes up. Just keep an eye on him."

Yukiko scoffed. "But doctor, there must be something you can do, right? Do you know how much I had to give up just to get you to come look at him? Fix him, dammit! You're a doctor aren't you?!"

Ando put a hand on her shoulder, non-verbally telling her to calm down. But she shrugged it off.

"Like I said," the doctor frowned. "I've done all I can. The rest is up to the patient."

Yukiko growled and took a step forward.

"Stop, he's right." Ando stepped between them. He turned to the doctor. "Thank you. You can leave now."

The doctor nodded and scurried away.

"Why did you let him go?!" Yukiko rounded on Ando.

"Because he's done all he can."

"Then what do you suggest we do?!"

"We'll have to stay here. We can't move Takumi, and it's not like we have a home to return to. And then I was thinking, after Takumi wakes up, we should go to Edo."

"Edo?"

"Yeah, I don't know how much safer it'll be compared to Kyoto though." He ruffled her hair. "Keep an eye on the guy. I'm going to go check up on the others."

* * *

Later that evening, Yukiko turned her back to the pink-speckled sky and pushed herself to her feet. "I'm going for a walk." She said to no one in particular. "I need a change of scenery." She set off at a brisk pace, down the route to their destroyed house. She stopped in front of the ruins, in her mind, she conjured the image of the small house before the fire.

"I'm sorry." A deep, calm voice dissolved the mirage. Yukiko turned to see a violet-haired man approaching her. He stopped a few paces away, and his division halted behind him. "That was your house wasn't it?"

"Saito-san."

"I would offer you residence at the headquarters, but unfortunately that is not under my jurisdiction, and we hardly have room for the Shinsengumi."

"Thanks, but that's okay. We might be leaving soon anyway." She turned to face him. "How's Okita-san? I haven't heard from him in a while."

Saito swallowed and stepped away from his squad. "To be honest, he's been in a bad state."

"What do you mean? Is there something wrong with him?" Yukiko could feel the blood rushing to her head, and suddenly, she felt light headed. _"Not Okita-san too..."_ She thought in horror.

Saito paused for a moment. "He has tuberculosis."

Her eyes widened. "Tuberculosis?"

"I'm assuming you know what that is?"

"Yes, I've heard of it. I've also heard that there's no cure. Will he be okay?" She staggered up to the third division captain and grasped his arms for support.

"He's getting weaker everyday."

"Can I see him?" Yukiko asked.

Saito stared down at her, his cerulean eyes boring holes into her face. "Alright," he relented. "But only for a little bit. I can't let you stay for too long."

"Thank you." She whispered. Her arms dropped down limply by her side.

He lead her back to the compound. As they entered through the large gate, the first person they ran into was the vice-commander. He glared down at her, his purple eyes narrowing. "What are you doing back here? Unfortunately, we don't have time for anymore of your problems."

"I'm here to see Okita-san. I heard he was sick." She countered.

Hijikata nodded. "Saito, keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn't run around, and make sure she doesn't stay too long."

Saito nodded and shepherded her away. As they walked, he turned around to address his division. "I've got this under control. You all can leave." They saluted him and dispersed, leaving Yukiko alone with Saito. "We plan on leaving here." He said to her quietly.

"Excuse me?" She looked up at him, wondering if she had heard him correctly.

"We had planned on reorganizing and rallying in Edo." He explained.

"Why are you telling me this?" Yukiko wondered aloud. "Aren't you afraid I might run to your enemy with this information."

"If Souji trusts you, I don't see why I shouldn't." He said simply. "We'll be leaving in about a week. We're packing our supplies now."

"Truthfully, we were going to go to Edo as well." Yukiko admitted. "Our home here in Kyoto is gone, so wanted to start fresh in Edo."

They stopped in front of a door, and Saito opened it.

"Hajime-kun?" A familiar voice called out weakly. "Why are you here?"

"I just got back from patrol, and I brought someone to see you."

"Someone? Who is it?"

Saito stepped aside to let Yukiko enter the room. "Okita-san." She whispered.

His green eyes widened. "Yuki-chan!" He pushed himself up, but broke out coughing in the process. "What are you doing here?!" He managed between coughs.

Yukiko rushed to him and helped him sit up. "I'm here to visit you."

Saito turned to close the door, but Okita stopped him. "Leave it open. I wanted some fresh air anyway." Saito nodded and knelt just inside the room.

"Are you okay?" Yukiko asked Okita.

He scoffed. "Well, I'm not dead am I?"

She frowned. "That's not funny."

Okita chuckled, but it drifted away into a sigh. "Why did you come here? I didn't want you to see me like this."

"How could I not come?!"

"It's good to see you weren't seriously injured by the fire."

"Yeah, but our house burnt down. We're going to Edo in a few days."

"Edo?" He laughed. "It looks like we'll be going there soon too."

"I know. Saito-san told me."

"Hajime-kun did?" He raised an eyebrow. "It seems like you two are getting pretty cozy behind my back."

"It's not like that!" Yukiko protested.

Okita glanced over at Saito who didn't say a word. "Just wait and see. I'll get over this illness. A change in air will do me good, and when I get better, I'll make sure you won't be able to cheat on me again."

"Like I said," Yukiko said exasperatedly. "I didn't cheat on you! Saito-san and I were just talking!"

Saito stood up, interrupting them. "We should get going now." His gaze flickered from Yukiko to Saito.

"Alright." Yukiko nodded at him. "I'll find you in Edo." She smiled at Okita, who scoffed.

"See you." He coughed a bit.

Saito and Yukiko left the room, closing the door behind them. "Wait." Yukiko stopped Saito before they reached the end of the hallway. "Can I talk to Sannan-san really quickly?"

"Why?" Saito's eyes narrowed.

"I need clarification on something he said to me earlier."

"Alright, but make it quick." Yukiko nodded, and Saito led her through the mansion until they reached a smaller building behind the main house. "Sannan-san." Saito called out quietly.

"Saito-kun? Is that you?" A voice within the room responded.

"Yes."

"Please come in." Saito opened the door and ushered Yukiko in. "Watanabe-kun!" Sannan-san rose to his feet, abandoning the book at his desk. "What brings you here?"

"I need to ask you a question."

Sannan-san looked at her inquisitively and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Ask away."

Yukiko took a breath. "I want you to tell me more about that witch."

"Witch?" He looked confused.

"Once before, when I was staying here, you mentioned that there was a witch, living in the mountains who will grant any wish. I want you to give me more information."

His face smoothed out. "Oh, that. Unfortunately I only heard it as a rumor from a geiko when I went to Shimabara once. I don't know any more than what I told you. If you want information I suggest you ask around the red-light district. Try asking at the okiyas. Rumors tend to originate from there."

"Alright, I will, thank you." Yukiko bowed.

"May I ask why you're searching for this information?"

She smiled. "For my own personal reasons."

Sannan-san nodded. "Well, if you want to keep it a secret, that's fine. But remember this, be prepared to pay a price."

With one last bow, Yukiko allowed Saito to sweep her out of the room.

* * *

As Yukiko approached the riverbank, Kimura scurried up to meet her. "Boss, boss!" He cried.

She sprinted up to him. "What, Kimura, what is it? Did something happen?"

"It's Takumi!"

"Did something happen to him?" She asked wildly.

"He woke up!"

She stared at the man for a moment before running down to the bank. She skidded to a halt in front of Ando. "I heard Takumi's awake."

"He is," he responded, "but..." He stepped to the side, allowing her a clear view of a familiar, broad back.

She knelt beside him and gave him a friendly shove. "Takumi! I see you're pretty tenacious after all!" She laughed. "I thought it would take you much longer to wake up!" She waited for a response, but none came. He didn't seem to have moved at all. She tilted her head to get a clear look at his face. "Takumi?"

His eyes swiveled to stare at her blankly. They stared at each other for a moment, and Yukiko could feel her blood pumping loudly in her ears. Then his lips opened. "Who are you?"


	14. Chapter 14

**So I think the next chapter will be the last one. Thanks for staying with me guys! I really appreciate everyone who's reviewed/ favorited / followed this story! Many thanks!**

Hikiri:** sorry for the late update! I've been busy preparing for AP exams, but here it is! Thank you for always reviewing every chapter, for this story and Blue Moon as well!**

Ainhoa11:** hehe you might have the right idea about her ;)**

gozita444:** haha, I need to stick a little bit of comic relief in there, and thank you!**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"Who are you?" Takumi stared at her blankly.

Yukiko stared up at him. "You don't remember me?"

He shook his head.

She laughed breathlessly. "You're joking with me right? Please tell me this is a joke." She slapped his shoulder. "You really got me there for a second." She chuckled. "Okay, joke time's over." He stared at her blankly. And the smile slipped off her face. "Do you really not remember who I am?" He shook his head again and she grabbed the katana resting beside Ando. She held it up to his face. "What about this?! Do you not remember this either?!" Again, his head swung to and fro. Yukiko leapt to her feet, tossing the katana to the ground. "Shit!" She screamed. "Shit, shit, shit!" She cursed, tearing at her hair.

Ando laid a hand on her shoulder. "Boss, calm down." He tried to soothe her.

She scoffed. "Calm? You expect me to be calm?!" She pushed him away. "How can I be calm right now?!" She dragged a hand through her hair angrily. "First Okita-san, and now Takumi?! You can't expect me to pretend everything is alright, now can you?!"

"Okita-san?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Forget it." She pivoted on her heels. "I'm going for a walk."

"Again?!" Ando called after her. "It's dark, and you just got back from one!"

"I need to cool my head off!" She shouted back. "I'll be back in a bit!" She stalked back into the city. In frustration, she kicked a rock lying on the dirt road, and it flew forward, striking a middle-aged man in the back of his calves. "Sorry!" She apologized.

He gave her a withering look before veering away. Yukiko walked until she reached a familiar building that was partially scorched by the fire. Sweeping her gaze up and down the street, she noticed that most of the houses in this area were relatively unaffected by the inferno. Heaving a sigh, she called out. "Excuse me, is anyone home?"

The door opened and a young girl appeared in the doorway. "Yes? May I help you?"

"Take me to see the Okaa-san of this okiya." Yukiko ordered. She entered the door rudely, brushing past the girl.

The girl stammered. "Um, I'm sorry, but Okaa-san said she didn't want to be disturbed."

Yukiko looked down at her pityingly. "Tell her that someone from her past is here to see her. I don't care how busy she is."

The girl bowed and scurried away. She returned a few minutes later, an old lady with sagging, yellow skin and lank, gray hair slowly following behind her. "Who is it that wants to see me?" She croaked. "If you're looking for money leave. I don't have anything to give you."

Yukiko stepped towards her and stared down at her watery, glazed eyes. "Hello Okaa-san. Do you remember me?"

The old lady's lips curled into a sneer when she got a better look at Yukiko's face. "How could I ever forget you? Just because you've grown older, your sneaky face is still the same. The okiya's reputation dropped, and I lost a lot of money because of you." Her mouth twitched in disgust. "So what are you here for? I'm assuming you don't want to become a geiko." She snorted. "Even if you did, I wouldn't want you back."

Yukiko raised an eyebrow and lifted her chin higher. "I couldn't care less about becoming a geiko. I'm here because I need to ask you something."

The lady smirked. "And why should I just answer you? Try paying back your debts first, then I'll think about it."

Yukiko's eyes narrowed as she glared at the Okaa-san. Then she pulled out the blue purse from her kimono. "What about this? Will this be enough to make you talk? You also might want to keep in mind that I'm not in the most amiable of moods right now."

The old woman ran a crooked finger traced the pink, cherry-blossom embroidery. "Silk." She muttered. "It must be worth a fortune."

"So?" Yukiko pulled the purse out of the Okaa-san's gnarly fingers. "Will you answer?"

"It depends on the question. Ask first, then I'll decide"

"Fine." Yukiko glared at her. "Will you tell me about the witch who will grant wishes for a price?"

"What do you want to know about her?"

"Everything. How to find her, how to get to her. What's the price? Everything."

"Alright, I'll answer since you might not be able to find her anyway. Now give me the purse." She held out a wrinkled hand.

Yukiko shook her head and held the bag out of the old lady's reach. "Answer first, then I'll give it to you."

"How do I know you won't run off with it? You did once before."

"I promise I won't. I'll swear by my life."

The Okaa-san stared at her suspiciously and Yukiko held her gaze. "Fine." She relented.

"What do you mean I won't be able to find her?" Yukiko asked.

"No one I've known who's gone looking for her have found her."

"So you think I won't?"

The Okaa-san's lips curled at the question, as if the answer were obvious. "Anyway, she lives on the highest mountain, east of Edo. Do you know which one I'm talking about?"

Yukiko thought for a moment. "Yes."

"Fine. The journey won't be easy, and be prepared to pay a price."

"What price?"

"I don't know."

"So that's it? I just climb the mountain to find her."

The old lady shook her head. "_You_ won't find her. _She'll_ find _you_." She held out a hand. "Now give me the purse. I've told you all I know." Yukiko held it out and the Okaa-san snatched it out of her hands like an eagle seizing it's prey. "I have nothing more to tell you, so leave." She hissed.

Yukiko snorted and, gazing sadly at the blue purse for the final time, she stalked out of the miserable okiya. She felt her spirits sink even lower as she walked back to riverbank. The twinkling stars in the night sky contrasted with her sour mood. Takumi had forgotten all about her, and Okita was dying of tuberculosis. It seemed as though everyone close to her heart was leaving her. She looked up as she reached her destination and saw everyone waiting for her.

Ando walked up to greet her. "We're leaving tomorrow morning. It'll take about eighteen days to get to Edo."

She nodded and went to sit by Takumi, who recoiled from her slightly. She pretended not to notice. He stared at her warily, but she kept her eyes focused straight in front of her. "Do you know your own name?" She asked him.

He blinked several times. "T-Takumi, right?" He pointed to his left. "One of those guys told me."

Yukiko nodded slowly. "That's right, Takumi. My name's Yukiko."

"Yukiko." He repeated slowly, still staring at her warily. "Nice to meet you."

Hearing those words, Yukiko felt something die in her heart. She buried her face in her hands and cried.

* * *

On the twelfth day into their hike to Edo, Yukiko pulled Ando away from the group. "I need to talk to you privately." She whispered in his ear. The two of them slowed their paces until they were lagging slightly behind the rest of the group.

"What is it?" He asked her in a low voice.

"I'm taking a detour." She answered. "There's something I have to do. I'll meet you guys in Edo."

"What is it that you need to do?"

"Just some personal matters."

Ando stared at her suspiciously. Then he reached into the sack he was carrying and took out four steamed buns. "Here, take these."

Yukiko's eyes widened. "But what about you?"

"It's okay. I'll share with the other guys until we get to the next town where I can get some more. Take it." He urged her.

She gladly accepted his offering and placed the buns in her own sack. "Thanks."

"But, are you sure you can go by yourself?" He asked with concern.

"This is something I have to do by myself."

"Alright then. When are you leaving?"

"Now." She replied. "I want to get as far as I can before it gets too dark to see."

"What should I tell the others?"

"Anything you want." She thought for a bit. "Tell them I had some business to take care of or something." Andou nodded. "Thanks." She patted him on the shoulder. "And take care of Takumi for me, would you?" He nodded again. "Then," she tilted her head to the side. "I'm going to get going now." With one last glance at Takumi, she veered off of the path.

The dried, dead leaves crunched under her feet as Yukiko picked her way through the dense foliage. The waning light streaming through the trees was bleak. She hesitated. If she turned back now, she could still catch up to them, but she shook her head. This was something she had resolved to do long ago, and she couldn't turn back now. So for three days, she hiked until she reached the base of a large mountain. Looking up, the peak seemed to stretch up forever, and she noticed that there was no easy way to ascend. She shifted the pack on her shoulder and placed a foot on the rocky, nature-made trail. She shuffled around, making sure her footing was secure, then she began to climb the small winding trail up the side of the mountain.

As the sun began to sink behind the horizon, the darkness brought with it an eerie mist. The temperature dropped, and Yukiko's breath came out as small puffs of air. The trail she was walking on began to narrow out, and her footing became more unstable. She paused and searched above her for something to grab onto. Heaving herself up, she shimmied sideways, trying to find somewhere wide enough to walk when she encountered an opening in the side of the mountain, several yards above her. She reached up and tried to grab the ledge above her, but her foot slipped out from beneath her and she felt herself dropping through the air. She screamed and reached out a hand, managing to grab a branch jutting out. A hiss escaped her lips as a sharp pain jolted through her arm. A trickle of blood oozed past her elbow and stained the sleeve of her kimono. She let out a sigh of relief, her heart pounding ferociously. Ignoring the pain, she pulled herself up and climbed back to the narrow entrance of the cave.

Once she had squeezed through the small opening, she set her pack down and collapsed against the wall, nursing the deep gash on her forearm. Tearing off a strip of cloth from her kimono, Yukiko wrapped it tightly around wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. After she had caught her breath, she picked up the sack, slung it over her shoulder and ventured further into the cave. The mist had floated into the cave, and it made visibility difficult. She squinted, careful not to trip over a rock. The sound of her breathing bounced off the cavern walls, amplifying the noise. A drop of water fell the the ground loudly, and then Yukiko heard a scampering noise behind her. Whirling around, she peered into the darkness, trying to make out a shape, but there was nothing there and everything was eerily quiet.

Several, long minutes later, and deeper into the cave, she heard the noise again, louder than before. Glancing in fear behind her, her footsteps sped up until she was running away - fleeing from the sound. Her breath came out as terrified gasps, but no matter how fast she ran, whatever was chasing her never seemed to slow down. Her toe caught on a stray rock, and she cried out as she came crashing to the ground. But the shuffling noises didn't seem to stop. Instead, they pelted her from all sides. Yukiko's black eyes flew around wildly, desperately trying to search for the source of the noise, when all of a sudden, they stopped, and there was complete silence all around her. She held her breath, not even daring to breath. But just as she was about to push herself up, something brushed against her shoulder and she shrieked, whirling around. Behind her squatted a skinny young woman. She had short, black hair which framed her sharp face. Her mischievous smile widened at Yukiko's reaction.

"Holy shit! Who are you?!" Yukiko backed away slowly.

The woman laughed. "How rude. I'm the one you've been searching for!" She raised an eyebrow. "I thought I'd make your life easier by finding you first."

"You're the one who can grant wishes?" Yukiko breathed out.

She thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose if that's what you'd like to call it. I'd prefer 'making a deal,' but I guess that works too." She nodded and stood up, her dark-red kimono rustling quietly. "Why don't you follow me? We can talk more about it."

Yukiko stood and followed the woman. "Um, what should I call you?"

"Whatever you want. Whatever you're comfortable with."

"Okay then, witch."

She snorted. "'Witch?' I'm not _that_ old yet."

Yukiko ignored her. "Tell me, will you grant anything I ask?"

"I guess that would depend." The witch stopped in front of an opening in the wall. Inside, the soft glow of a candle illuminated the walls. Her thin face glowed palely, contrasted by the darkness of the cave.

"On what?" She followed the witch into the makeshift room. Looking around, it seemed decent enough.

The witch smirked. Her short, black hair bobbed to and fro as she rested her chin on her hand. "On what you want." Her black eyes narrowed and she chuckled. "I've been in a good mood lately, so I decided to help you. Tell me what it is you want."

"I want you to save someone." Yukiko stared at her, and she blinked in response. "He's dying of tuberculosis. Please cure his illness."

The witch sat back and sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't do that."

"Why not? Can't you grant any wish?"

"I don't grant wishes." She explained. "I make deals. I run a business."

"And I have to pay a price right?"

She nodded. "But this isn't something as trivial as you think it is. The price you would have to pay goes against my moral beliefs."

"What is it?"

"The moment I grant that wish, you'd die."

"I don't care."

"But I do. I won't kill someone like that."

"Then how about trading my life?"

"What do you mean?"

"When his time runs out, I'll give him the rest of mine."

The witch sighed again and stared at her hard. Finally she relented. "Alright. That's stretching it a bit, but I told you I was in a good mood. Is that what you want?"

Yukiko nodded.

Her lips curled into a smile. "I'll need a payment."

"What? But-"

The witch cut her off. "If you want to save his life, you'll need to pay me."

Yukiko glared at her. "What do you want? What's your price, witch?"

The short-haired, dark-eyed woman snorted. "Well, let's see." Her eyes traveled up and down Yukiko's body. Then the corner of her full lips turned up in a smirk. "How about that item at your waist?"

Yukiko looked down in surprise. "This?" She shifted the sword forward.

"Yep."

She felt her heart sinking. "But," she whispered, "this is the only thing I have left of Takumi's. He told me to always keep it with me."

The witch's expression never changed. "Surely you've heard that the price would be large."

"I didn't think it would be like this. Please, this is the only thing I can't give away." She felt her eyes sting, and she blinked several times.

"If this is something you truly desire, you have to make a choice, a great one. You have to let one of them go. It's impossible for you to keep both of them. So make your decision. The katana or not?"

Large tears rolled down her eyes as she recounted her memories of Okita, and of Takumi. Then, with shaky hands, she unfastened the obi securing the katana Takumi had given her. She ran her fingers lightly over the wooden sheath and then drew the sword slowly, taking in the silver sheen of the blade. With a sigh, she sheathed it again and held it out to the witch who took it without remorse. As soon as the katana left her hands, Yukiko felt a burning sensation on her chest, as if something branding her. She let out a gasp and she clawed at it, trying to alleviate the pain. After a few moments, the pain subsided, and she tore down the collar of her kimono to look at her chest. On the left side, a burn in the shape of small ring with a slash through it was visible.

"What did you do?" Yukiko spat out.

"It's a mark of our contract." The witch explained. "It will disappear after your desire has been fulfilled."

"Fine." She glared at the witch, readjusting her kimono.

The witch smiled and stood up, approaching her. She placed a hand on Yukiko's cheek. "You pitiful creature."

Yukiko growled at her, her black eyes narrowing.

"Close your eyes." The witch ordered. "I'll help you out a bit." Yukiko did as she said, finding that she didn't have the power to refuse. "When you open them again, you'll be at your destination."

A sense of lethargy washed over Yukiko, and she felt her legs give out under her. She tried to open her eyes, but they refused to comply. Soon, her conscience slipped away, and it was replaced with darkness.

* * *

**I sort of based the "witch" idea off Xxxholic, which is a wonderful manga/ anime for those of you who haven't seen it yet. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys, so this is it! It's the last chapter! I can't thank you guys enough for supporting me until the end, and I want to thank all the people who reviewed, favorited and followed this story! I would list all of you out individually, but it'd be too long, thank you so much!**

Guest:** so for the part you didn't understand, the latter is more correct. And thank you!**

Alikkatz:** thanks!**

Ainhoa11:** yeah, I'm so happy they have a second season for the manga! It was a pretty good birthday gift. Thanks!**

gozita444:** haha, I like things sad! Yeah, Xxxholic is really good, I recommend it! Thank you for reviewing ever since the first chapter! I really appreciate all the support you gave me!**

**I actually do have another story floating around in my head right now. It's probably going to be another SaitoXOC story, and I rather like the idea I have right now, but I think I'm going to let it ferment a bit longer before I start writing it. I'll still be on fanfiction from time to time, but I probably won't be starting a new story for a few months. I hope you guys enjoy this last chapter! Thank you all again!**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Yukiko groaned as her eyes slowly opened and her vision became sharper. She pushed herself up and looked around. The leaves of the tall trees above her allowed some of the dim light to filter through. Her head felt like it was about to explode as a searing pain shot through it. She squeezed her eyes shut and flopped back onto the ground, the dry leaves crinkling underneath her. A moan escaped through her lips and she brought a hand up to her head to massage her scalp. She felt like she had been asleep for a year. Her memory felt foggy, but she remembered was climbing the mountain and talking to the witch. _"Was it all just a dream?"_ She thought to herself. _"It seemed like years ago."_ Pulling down the collar of her kimono, she glanced at the left side of her chest, and on it was the puckered skin in the shape of a circle with a slash through it. With the tip of her finger, she traced the ring once before readjusting the collar of her kimono. She let her hand flop to her side and she sighed. _"So it wasn't just a dream..."_

"Boss?" A voice broke her from her contemplation. "What are you doing here?"

She looked up and saw a tall, heavy man standing over her. "Ando." She sighed.

"How'd you get here so fast?"

She stood up and turned to face him. "What? How long have I been gone?"

"Four days."

"Four days?!" She repeated, shocked. "It didn't take me four days to find that witch..."

"What?" Andou's face scrunched in confusion.

Yukiko shook her head. "No, it's nothing. Where's Takumi?"

"Back there." He pointed over his shoulder with a thumb.

"Oh, boss!" Yukiko looked around Ando to see Murata leading the rest of the group. The man held up a hand and waved at her. "How'd you get here so fast?" He asked, repeating Ando's question.

"Magic." She responded dismissively.

"Really?" He snorted.

She nodded noncommittally. When she found Takumi near the back of the group, her eyes tightened and she forced smiled at him. He didn't return the smile. His amber eyes traveled down to her waist, lingering there for a moment before glancing back up at her face. "Where's your sword?" He asked.

She started, swallowing hard. "I lost it."

"But wasn't it important to you?"

She shook her head sadly. "No, it's not. Not anymore."

Ando approached her. "So, what happened while you were gone?" He asked.

"Nothing really." She sighed.

He stared at her with squinted eyes and let out a puff of air. "Well, it's fine if you don't want to tell me, but I'm glad that you're back, and that nothing happened."

The corners of her lips pulled up into a small smile. "Thanks, Ando."

He smiled ruefully and ruffled her hair with a large hand. "Now then, should we continue on to Edo? We only have a couple more days left before we get there."

So for two days, Yukiko and the others walked through the dense trees until they they saw scarcely scattered houses just outside the rows of tree trunks and leaves.

"We're finally here!" Murata complained. "Now we have to find a place to live!"

"I think I might know a place." Yukiko said quietly. "If it's still there that is."

"Lead the way." Ando nodded at her, stopping to let her step forward.

Yukiko traced the path she tried to conjure from her memories. The years had made everything foggy, but nonetheless, after an hour of winding through the maze-like streets, she reached an old, dilapidated, abandoned house, much like the one they had left behind in Kyoto. But this house was slightly larger, and the wood was beginning to mold from the years of disuse.

"What is this place?" Ando asked, a slight frown on his face.

"Where I used to live." She glanced back at Takumi, trying to see if there was any response from him, but his face was a blank slate. It didn't seem as though he remembered the house he had grown up in either. Her eyes dropped down to the ground and she walked up to the door. Gripping the decaying wood, she opened the door. A waft of stagnant air floated out. She turned around and smiled. "It doesn't seem like anyone's living here. If we air it out and clean it a bit, it'll be fit to live in."

Ando chuckled lightly. "I guess it looks like we have our work cut out ahead of us. If we want to sleep with a roof over our head tonight, we'd better get started."

* * *

A week later, as Yukiko was out buying vegetables, she saw a group of older women standing off to the side of the street, under the shade of a store building. She inched closer to them, pretending to double the check the contents of her basket as she eavesdropped. She strained her ears to hear their conversation spoken in hushed voices.

"Hey, did you hear? The Shinsengumi is in town."

"The Shinsengumi? That group from Kyoto? When did they arrive?"

"Yesterday evening."

"I heard Kyoto is in the middle of war. If the Shinsengumi is here, doesn't that mean Edo will become mixed up in the bloodshed as well?"

"That's scary to even think about!"

"So, where are they staying?"

"They seized control of the large manor in the north side of the town."

Yukiko straightened up at this piece of news. Her heart pounding with anticipation, she sprinted as fast as she could back home. Just as she approached the crumbling building, Kimura stepped out from the front door. "Kimura!" She shouted.

"Oh, boss!" He smiled at her.

"Kimura!" She panted, screeching to a halt in front of him.

"W-what?" He blinked in surprise as he held out a hand to steady her.

"Here." She shrugged off the basket of vegetables and dumped it in is arms.

His eyes flickered between the woven basket and her face several times. "What is this about?"

She paused to catch her breath. "Put it in the house for me. I have to go somewhere."

"Where?" He shifted the heavy bundle in his arms.

"I'll be back!" She turned around and sprinted away.

"Boss!" She heard him calling after him, but she ignored him.

Completely disregarding the stitch in her side, she forced her legs to carry her all the way to the mansion where the Shinsengumi was staying at. In front of the large, wooden gate, she doubled over, propping her hands on her knees, and gasped for breath, sweat beading on her forehead. With the sleeve of her kimono, she wiped the perspiration off and approached one of the guards. "Can you call Saito-san for me, please?"

The man she was talking to glanced over at the other guard, who flicked his chin towards the door. The guard turned back to Yukiko. "Stay here." He commanded in a raspy voice, his eyes silently warning her of the consequences of not following his order. "I'll be right back."

Yukiko nodded and bowed in thanks. The man opened the gate just enough to squeeze through the crack. A few moments later he returned, the violet-haired captain trailing behind him. "Watanabe-san." Saito greeted her curtly. "It's good to see you found us."

"Yeah, thanks." She responded breathlessly.

"I assume your here to see Souji?"

Yukiko nodded again.

Saito's head dipped once, and then he turned around. Yukiko followed him. Like he had in Kyoto, the captain of the third division lead the girl to Okita's room, but this time in silence. Yukiko shrugged the taciturnity. She knew the man was never one for words. If it had been another, she would have been offended by the lack of hospitality. Wordlessly, Saito stopped in front of a door.

"Souji, I'm coming in." He murmured, his lips centimeters away from the doorframe. He paused for a moment, and whether there was a response or not, Yukiko could not be sure. But Saito opened the door and stepped aside to let her pass. She stepped into the shadowed room and her eyes widened when she saw Okita. In a matter of three weeks, he had changed so much. His skin was deathly pale, and had a sallow sheen to it. His eyes were sunken and almost too big for his emaciated face. His once-shiny hair hung lank.

"Okita-san." She whispered. Behind her, Saito noiselessly slipped back into the hallway and slid the door closed.

"Yukiko." Okita didn't look surprised to see her. He tried to sit up, and Yukiko knelt beside him to aid him. "You're here."

"Yeah." She blinked back tears. "How are you?"

He snorted. "How do I look?"

"Sorry, it was an insensitive question."

"That's okay." He smirked. "Hey, are you getting fatter?"

"What?"

"You look chubbier. Give me some of your fat, woman. I think I need it more than you."

Yukiko scowled, deciding to play along. "Don't be ridiculous. I haven't gotten fatter."

Okita's smile faded and he sighed, glaring at nothing in particular. "Listen, this is important. I know you can't stay long, so let me tell you this before you go."

"What is it?"

"Even in the condition I'm in, there are still a couple things I need to do for the Shinsengumi. But I want you to wait for me."

Yukiko opened her mouth to speak, but Okita cut her off.

"Outside of Edo, to the south, there's a small village. All of Japan will be drenched in the blood shed by this war, but I think that village is secluded enough to be relatively unaffected. Go there and wait for me. I promise that once I finish my duty here, I will find you."

"Okita-san." She breathed. "When should I leave?"

"As soon as possible. Edo isn't safe anymore either. Wait for me there. No matter how many months or years should pass, wait for me. I promise I will stay alive and find you."

Yukiko leaned down and gently pressed her lips against his. "I will. I promise."

"Go as soon as possible." Even through his illness, his forest-green eyes still retained their cockiness.

She scoffed. "No need to order me around. I'll be there, and I'll wait for you. I promise." Carefully, she lowered Okita back down to the futon.

The door opened. "Are you done?" Saito asked in a hushed voice.

Yukiko nodded and left the room, turning back to look at Okita for what could possible be the last time. She smiled at him, and after a moment, he smiled back. Saito closed the door between them and lead Yukiko back to the gate. "Thanks." She bowed.

"I didn't do much."

"Still." She insisted.

"Thank you." Saito said quietly.

"For what?" She frowned.

"For making him happy. He's become a better person since he found you."

She laughed under her breath. "But I don't know how much longer we have together." She muttered.

"He'll live." Saito pursed his lips into a straight line.

Yukiko lifted her gaze and her black eyes bore into Saito's blue ones. "Yes, he will." Giving him one last bow, she stepped through the gates and walked away, hearing them creak shut behind her. Compared to how she sprinted to the Shinsengumi headquarters, on her way back home, her feet dragged, and she wiped away the tears leaking from the corner of her eyes with the back of her hands.

Thankfully, her tears had dried up by the time she reached home. She shoved the door open and stumbled inside. The house still smelled of mold, but the scent that had already permeated deep into the structure of the house would take years to fade. As she rounded the corner, on the way to her bedroom, Yukiko almost walked right into Takumi. "Sorry." She croaked.

His mouth opened and closed a few times. "Welcome back." He finally managed.

Her mouth corner lifted in a half smile. "I'm back." She pushed past him, deciding that she didn't need another stressor in her day, but she changed her mind. She spun around and grabbed his wrist, halting him mid-step. "Can I talk to you really quickly?"

Takumi nodded slowly and she dropped his arm. Motioning for him to follow her, she walked wearily to her room. She allowed Takumi to enter first before closing the door behind her and kneeling in front of him. He stared at her expectantly.

Yukiko's eyelids fluttered shut and she sighed heavily. "So, I know you don't remember me, I know you don't remember this house, and I know you don't remember all the things we've been through together, but in all honesty, that's alright. Of course I was sad when I found out that you had forgotten everything, but I know that you'll be okay."

"What are you trying to say?" Takumi tilted his head ever so slightly.

"There's someone who needs me more than you, and I want to be there to support him for as long as I can. I guess it's a good thing you can't remember me. You won't be sad when I leave." She crawled to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you for always looking out for me before. I don't know what I would have done without you." She felt warm, wet splashes on her kimono. "Are you crying?" She pulled away to look at him, and sure enough, tears were streaking down his face.

"I-I don't understand why. My body just...by itself...it's like my body remembers you even if my mind doesn't." He wiped away the tears.

Yukiko smiled sadly. "It's okay. Everyone here will take care of you, so you'll be fine. Don't go looking for your memories. It's best that you don't remember me. I don't want to hurt you any more."

"When are you leaving?" He asked, the tears still falling from his face.

"Soon." She replied. "But don't tell anyone until after I'm gone, please."

Takumi nodded. "Alright." He stared at her. "Can I ask you one last question?" Yukiko gestured for him to continue. "Did you really lose that katana?"

She started at the question. Her eyes searched his face before answering. "No, I didn't lose it."

He nodded again, his silent indignation barely showing, before he stood up and left the room, slamming the door on his way out.

Yukiko sagged to the floor, blinking back the oncoming tears. _"You did good, Yukiko. It was the right thing to do."_ She thought to herself. _"It's best to let him go."_ She pressed the palms of her hands to her closed eyelids. _"It's better this way."_

* * *

**Two years later:**

Yukiko felt a tug on the long sleeve of her kimono. She looked down and saw a young child looking up at her with large, watery brown eyes. He sniffed and she saw tears beginning to pool and spill. She bent down and picked him up, cradling him in her arms. "What's wrong, Shou?" She cooed. "We're you separated from your mommy?" The boy nodded, poking his lower lip with his thumb.

"Shou!" Yukiko heard a cry, and a young woman ran up to her. "Oh, thank you for finding him, Watanabe-san!" She exhaled in relief. Yukiko transferred the boy into the woman's arms. "Shou!" She scolded lightly. "Haven't you learned not to run off by yourself!" The child sniffed again and began to bawl, burying his face in his mother's shoulder. She sighed and patted his back. "Thank you again, Watanabe-san. We decided to go out for a little walk this morning. Goodness, I take my eyes off him for one second, and this is what happens."

Yukiko smiled. "Children will be children."

The lady smiled back. "Yes, I guess that's true. But anyway, you seem to come here every day. Are you waiting for someone?"

"Yes," Yukiko gazed out at the surrounding trees and the cherry blossom petals gently falling, like snow, to the ground. "I am. I'm waiting for the person most precious to me."

Her eyes softened. "You must love him a lot."

"Yes, I do." She whispered.

"Whoever he is, he's a lucky guy." The lady glanced at Shou, who had finally calmed down. "I think it's time I should get back. I'm sure my husband is waiting for me, wondering where I went."

Yukiko bowed. "Yes, I'll see you later."

Shou's mother turned to leave, but she had only gone several paces before she turned back around. "Oh, Watanabe-san, be sure to come by and visit when you have time!"

"I will!"

She dipped her head in a quick bow and continued down the road, away from Yukiko.

"I do love him," Yukiko whispered to herself. "But I never got the chance to tell him."

"Tell who what?" A voice that had haunted her dreams for the past two years floated over to her, carried by the spring wind. She froze, not daring to move, in case the illusion was shattered. "Are you not going to turn around and greet me?" She could hear the smile in his voice.

Yukiko felt hot tears spring to her eyes, and they tumbled down her cheeks. She slowly turned around and saw the familiar sandy hair and green eyes filling her blurred sight. His skin was a deathly pale, and his clothes, yellow and black colored, were stained with blood. He barely stood, supporting himself with his sword, yet he smiled. His ashen lips curved into the happiest smile she had ever seen him wear. Dropping his katana, he stumbled forward, and Yukiko caught him before he fell to the ground. "Okita-san, is it really you?"

"Have I really changed so much that you can't even recognize me?" He snorted.

"Even if your appearance has changed, your horrid personality hasn't." She smiled into his hair. She helped him up and used her shoulders to support him. "Here, let's go rest by that tree over there." She led him to a cherry blossom tree and slowly lowered Okita to the ground. He broke into a coughing fit, and Yukiko pressed a hand against his back. "Are you okay?" He waved away her concern. When his fit had passed, she situated both of them so that their backs were pressed against the wide trunk of the tree.

"So, what were you talking about to yourself?" Okita asked.

"Nothing extremely important." Yukiko's smile was plastered to her face as she stared at the man sitting next to her. She still couldn't fully believe that he was really there, beside her. "I just realized that I never told you that I love you." She turned away, blushing a light shade of pink. "I think I've loved you ever since I was a kid, when you first gave me that onigiri."

Okita laughed once. "I think it was the same for me."

Yukiko's eyes flickered down to him, and as fast as she could, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his. Before he could respond though, she broke away, the pink in her cheeks deepening. She cleared her throat.

"Are you embarrassed? This isn't the first time we've kissed." Yukiko didn't respond, and after a while, she felt something heavy weighing her shoulder down. She glanced at Okita and saw that he was using her shoulder as a pillow. "Let me rest for a bit. I'm tired." He muttered weakly.

She raised a hand and stroked his soft hair. After several minutes, she stopped. "I love you." She whispered, loudly enough for the man beside her to hear. There was no response. Several more minutes passed, and her fingers moved to his face. As she was tracing his ashen lips, she felt something was off. She held her hand under Okita's nose, but he wasn't breathing. "Okita-san." She pushed him up and shook his shoulders. His head lolled back and forth lifelessly. Blinking several times, she tried to trap the tears in. "I guess it's time then." She carefully situated his body so that he was able to lean against the tree without sliding off. Then she lowered upper body down until her head was resting against his thighs. Slowly, her eyelids slid shut, and soon, she felt the darkness wash over her.

* * *

Okita's eyes fluttered open. Around him, the world was white. _"Is this what the afterlife is like?"_ He thought to himself. But after a moment, his vision adjusted, and he saw light-pink petals dancing to the ground. In the distance, he saw small houses scattered here and there, and finally, he saw a young girl sleeping in his lap. He smiled. _"I guess fate decided to be kind and let me live."_

Carefully, he brushed a stray strand of hair from the girl's face. "I love you, Yukiko." He mouthed. He cupped her cheek in the palm of his large hand, but then he felt his heart stop. Her skin felt too cold. The afternoon, spring sun had done little to warm her. "Yukiko!" He gently pinched her cheek. "Yukiko, wake up!" But the girl didn't open her eyes, and, he realized, she never would. He leaned down and kissed her. His warm lips lingered on her cold ones. "What have you done! Yukiko!" He breathed. Hot, salty tears fell from his eyes and landed on her icy cheeks. With his thumbs, he brushed them away. "What have you done!" He moaned. And for the first time Okita could remember, he cried. He cried for all of his friends who had sacrificed themselves for the war, he cried for unjust death of the man who had raised him and who he respected, and he cried for the love he had let slip through his fingers, never to return to him.


End file.
